Legislative Update for the Week of April 9, 2012
Stuart Ishimaru to Resign as EEOC Commissioner
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member Stuart Ishimaru has announced that he is resigning from the Commission this month, two months shy of when his second term is set to expire. Read the full post here. (April 12)
Federal Court Limits OSHA's Ability to Issue Citations Past 6-Month Limitations Period
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied the Secretary of Labor's position that an employer's failure to properly make and maintain workplace injury and illness records for the requisite five-year period under Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations constitutes a continuing violation that tolls the six-month statute of limitations for issuing citations. Read the full post here. (April 11)
Latest Jobs Bill Includes Several Employment-Related Provisions
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Rebuild America Act, a bill that seeks to make substantial changes to the workplace by incorporating a whole host of employment-related provisions into a single piece of legislation. Read the full post here. (April 11)
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What's New in Employment Law This April and Beyond?
It is official policy in the UK for most changes to employment legislation to take effect in either April or October each year. This article summarises both the reforms coming into force this month and the major Government proposals for the future currently stacked up in the pipeline.
The most noteworthy changes being implemented in April 2012 are as follows:
Unfair Dismissal Qualifying Period
In a highly controversial reform that was confirmed by the Government last October, the period of employment before an employee qualifies for the right to claim unfair dismissal has increased from one to two years. This applies only to employees who start a new job on or after April 6, 2012: employees already in employment on that date retain the one-year qualifying period.
Continue Reading...Legislative Update for the Week of April 2, 2012
OSHA to Renew Focus on Hazards in Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced a new National Emphasis Program that sets forth the policies and procedures for targeting and addressing occupational illnesses and injuries most commonly experienced in nursing and residential care facilities. Read the full post here. (April 6)
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Legislative Update for the Week of March 26, 2012
Senators Ask DOJ, EEOC to Investigate Legality of Employer Social Media Login, Password Requests
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) have sent requests to the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asking them to determine whether the emerging employer practice of asking job applicants for their social media login credentials for background check purposes violates federal law. Read the full post here. (March 30)
EEOC Issues Final Rule on Reasonable Factors Other Than Age Defense in Disparate Impact Discrimination Cases
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its final rule amending its Age Discrimination in Employment Act regulations to clarify the reasonable factors other than age defense in disparate impact cases. Read the full post here. (March 30)
Legislative Update for the Week of March 19, 2012
Legislative, Executive Measures Aim to Reduce Regulatory Burdens on Employers
The same day the House Judiciary Committee approved a measure to place a moratorium on significant regulatory actions until the unemployment rate drops to 6 percent, an Office of Management and Budget official issued a new directive to federal agencies to take steps to ensure their rules are not unduly burdensome for employers. Read the full post here. (March 25)
OSHA Memo Cautions Against Certain Employer Safety Programs
In a new memo sent to regional administrators and whistleblower program managers, OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard E. Fairfax directs field compliance officers and whistleblower investigators to keep an eye out for workplace policies and practices that could discourage employees from reporting injuries. Read the full post here. (March 24)
Legislative Update for the Week of March 12, 2012
Bill Would Ban Predispute Arbitration Agreements
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) reintroduced a bill (H.R. 4181) that would effectively ban most employment-related predispute arbitration agreements. Read the full post here. (March 16)
DOL Labor Secretary Discusses Companionship Rule, H-2B Visa Program at Appropriations Hearing
During a Senate subcommittee hearing, Hilda Solis answered questions regarding the Department's proposed rule to subject many home care workers to the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime requirements, and its H-2B visa rule, which changes certain certification and employer requirements for temporary, seasonal workers. Read the full post here. (March 15)
Labor Bills Reintroduced in Senate
The National Right-to-Work Act would repeal the provisions in the NLRA and the Railway Labor Act that permit employers and unions to draft agreements requiring union membership and payment of union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The Re-empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act would amend the NLRA's definition of "supervisor" to enable more employees to be covered by the Act. Read the full post here. (March 12)
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Government Seeks Views on Workplace Dismissal Rules
The UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published a Call for Evidence on workplace dismissal processes. This was announced by Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable, in a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce on 15th March 2012.
The Call for Evidence is designed to help inform the Government's understanding of the current dismissal system. It includes:
- Gathering information on awareness and use of the Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures issued by the UK's conciliation service Acas. In particular, BIS wants to understand whether this could be adapted to make it easier to use and more accessible for smaller businesses.
- Seeking views on the idea of compensated no-fault dismissal for "micro businesses" (those with fewer than ten employees). Under such a system, the employer would pay a set amount of compensation to the employee but would not be required to go through a formal dismissal procedure.
Legislative Update for the Week of March 5, 2012
Senate Bill Targets Worker Misclassification
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has reintroduced the Fair Playing Field Act of 2012, which would limit the use of a federal "safe harbor" allowing businesses to treat workers as independent contractors for federal employment tax purposes, regardless of the worker's actual status under the common law test. Read the full post here. (March 6)
Wage and Hour Division Will Uniformly Enforce New Tip Credit Rule
According to a recently released Field Assistance Bulletin, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has advised its staff to uniformly enforce a rule that became effective on May 5, 2011 governing ownership of employee tips under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read the full post here. (March 5)
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Legislative Update for the Week of February 27, 2012
OSHA Elevates its Whistleblower Protection Program
In keeping with its plans to strengthen agency efforts to investigate and enforce whistleblower complaints, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that its Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program will now report directly to OSHA's Office of the Assistant Secretary. Read the full post here. (March 2)
Working Families Flexibility Act Reintroduced in House and Senate
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) reintroduced the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 4106, S. 2142), a bill that would provide employees with a statutory right to request flexible work terms and conditions. Read the full post here. (March 1)
EEOC Issues Revised Guidance on the Application of the ADAAA to Veterans' Employment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued revised guidance documents for employers and disabled veterans that address how various employment laws govern veterans' employment. Read the full post here. (February 28)
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Mass Unemployment in Spain Causes Historic Labour Law Reform
By Sagardoy Abogados (the Spain member of Ius Laboris)
On the 12th of February, Spanish Labour Law underwent an historic change. Royal Decree-Law 3/2012, entered into forceestablishing new measures to improve the employability and the stability of workers in Spain. In view of the overwhelming scale of mass unemployment in the country, the new measures go further than mere reform. They represent an attempt to transform Spain's employment model by creating a new and different work culture adapted to modern business reality.
Employability of the worker is addressed through various modifications to Spain's labour legislation. Under the decree, professional training is regarded as a personal right; all employees who have been with a company for at least one year are granted 20 hours of paid leave in order to carry out job-related training activities. Additionally, a more flexible management of a business' human resources is also required, allowing for professional progression based on an employee's efforts and abilities, not professional classification.
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