While various state legislatures passed fewer pieces of employment legislation in 2005 than in recent years, a significant number of workplace issues were impacted by these enactments.
The new laws covered issues that should make the lives of risk and HR managers interesting and challenging this year, such as:
o Expansion of prohibited bases of discrimination.
o New employment law procedural requirements.
o Leave-of-absence entitlements.
o Worker privacy.
o Plant closings and mass layoffs.
o Equal pay legislation.
o Prohibitions on smoking in the workplace.
Eight states and the District of Columbia enacted legislation that created or enlarged protected category groups. Five new laws added protection for discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The states in which the new protected categories were expanded by legislation this past year include:
o Arkansas (due to taking military leave or on account of military service).
o The District of Columbia (due to sexual orientation, as well as domestic partnerships).
o Illinois (sexual orientation).
o Maine (sexual orientation).
o Maryland (due to an appearance in court or service on a jury).
o Minnesota (due to sexual orientation, as well as on account of treatments for infectious diseases).
o Montana (due to membership in the state militia).
o Rhode Island (medical marijuana users).
o Washington (sexual orientation).
Five states enacted legislation or amended existing legislation which changed or enlarged procedures for litigation of employment discrimination claims.
o In California, the period for filing an administrative complaint for discrimination was extended. Workers under the age of 18 now have up to one year to file a complaint after attaining the age of majority.
o In Indiana, new rules regarding employment discrimination against the disabled were enacted.
o In Nebraska, the definition of an "employer" covered by the sex discrimination law was changed to include employers of 15 or more for at least 20 or more calendar weeks (the previous definition applied to employers of 25 or more employees).
o In North Dakota, the Human Rights Act was amended with respect to claims processing and availability of remedies at the administrative level.
Now, if a complaint is first filed with the North Dakota Department of Labor, the period of limitations for bringing an action in court is 90 days from the date of the department's determination. Also, neither the department nor its administrative hearing officers may order awards of compensatory damages or punitive damages.
o In Wyoming, the statute of limitations for bringing an administrative charge was extended to six months (previously, the statute of limitations was 90 days).
Several states passed new leave-of-absence laws or expanded leave entitlements.
o Arkansas enacted a law requiring private employers to provide an unpaid leave of absence for employees to serve as organ donors or bone marrow donors.
o Illinois enacted two new leave-of-absence entitlements, including military leave rights and leave on account of donation of organs or blood.
o Maine passed a new law requiring employers to allow workers leave for the care of an immediate family member who is ill.
o Minnesota enacted protections for employees who take time off to seek relief under the Domestic Abuse Act.
o New Hampshire passed a crime victim's rights law, which allows workers time off to attend legal proceedings. The bill also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who exercise their rights for leave under the law.
Worker privacy laws were enacted in a number of states.
o In Arkansas, employers are now required to safeguard Social Security numbers of workers and to prevent their misappropriation.
o The District of Columbia promulgated a law prohibiting employers from requiring or administering a genetic test to applicants or employees.
o New Mexico also enacted a genetic information protection law, which prohibits employers from requiring applicants or employees to disclose genetic information, or to take such information into account in making personnel decisions.
o Ohio passed a breastfeeding rights law, which provides that a mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location of a place of public accommodation where the mother is permitted. While the statute does not specifically mention places of employment, its language includes places of employment.
o In Vermont, employers may no longer require employees to refrain from disclosing the amount of wages or to sign a waiver that purports to deny that right.
Several states also passed miscellaneous labor/employment laws, including the regulation of plant closings and mass-layoffs (New Hampshire), smoking in the workplace (the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Washington), and equal-pay statutes (Hawaii and Nebraska).
Perhaps the most controversial new statute is Maryland's Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, dubbed the "Wal-Mart bill." The Maryland legislature enacted the measure in January, overriding the governor's veto.
The bill requires companies in Maryland with more than 10,000 employees to either spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health care coverage or place the money in a fund that would benefit the state Medicare program.
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