CHANGES IN LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW AND REGULATIONS

CHANGES IN LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW AND REGULATIONS Mark Shank Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

New Federal Employment and Labor Legislation Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 • Rejects strict interpretation of the definition of disability, and confirms broad coverage. • Prohibits the consideration of mitigating measures. • Covers perception of impairment regardless of whether actually disabled. • Clarifies when reasonable accommodations are required. • Lists major life activities. • Lists major bodily functions. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Establishes consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products; reauthorizes and modernizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and provides whistleblower protection for individuals who report violations of the Act. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008: Provisions Regarding Tax Relief for Tech Workers (Title VIII §103) Effectively forgives tax debts owed on stock options affected by the technology stock crash of 2000. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008: Provisions Regarding Executive Compensation (Title I § 111; Title III §302) Imposes certain executive compensation requirements and tax provisions for financial institutions that receive funds from the government bailout bill. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008 Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide benefits for military personnel. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Michelle’s Law Amends the ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the IRC to ensure that dependent students who take medical leave do not lose health insurance coverage. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 Requires most group health plans to provide more generous coverage for treatment of mental illnesses, comparable to what they provide for physical illnesses. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Veterans’ Benefit Improvement Act (VIBA) of 2008 Improves and enhances compensation and pension, housing, labor and education, and insurance benefits for veterans. Also strengthens USERRA. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 1) Amends: • CRA • ADEA • ADA • REHAB ACT 2) Limitations start again with each paycheck. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Proposed Federal Employment and Labor Legislation Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 Would explicitly bar arbitration of employment disputes. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act Would extend coverage under the FMLA to flight attendants and pilots. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Civil Rights Act of 2008 Would restore, reaffirm, and reconcile legal rights and remedies under civil rights statutes. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2007 Would end taxation of non-economic damages awarded to plaintiffs in employment cases and would reduce the taxes that employees pay on monies awarded as back-pay in a lump sum by allowing the employee-taxpayer to average their recoveries over the years in which they would have earned them. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Employee Free Choice Act Would make it easier for employees to form unions by amending the National Labor Relations Act. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Employee Misclassification Prevention Act Would amend the FLSA to require employers to keep records of non-employees who perform labor or services for remuneration and to provide a special penalty for employers who misclassify employees as non-employees. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Equality for Workers Under ERISA Act of 2007 Would amend Title I of ERISA to require de novo review of claims determinations made by employee benefit plans. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Equal Remedies Act of 2007 Would remove the damage caps in Title VII and the ADA which are based on the number of employees of the defendant employer. Would also extend the Title VII statute of limitations and eliminate the requirement that Title VII plaintiffs file with the EEOC. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2007 Would attempt to clarify certain provisions of the False Claims Act: (1) the scope of FCA liability, (2) the conditions under which a federal employee can file a qui tam action, and (3) the public disclosure bar. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008 Would provide that 4 to 8 of the 12 weeks of parental leave made available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave, and for other purposes. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act Would amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices and related provisions. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Forewarn Act of 2007 Would amend WARN to: a) Apply to 50 vs. 100 Employees; b) 90-day Notices vs. 60; c) Broader group of persons who receive Notices; and d) Stiffer penalties. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Healthy Families Act Paid sick leave for personal and family health needs. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007 1) Narrow Definition; 2) More power to IRS and DOL; and 3) Stiffer penalties. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Paycheck Fairness Act Would amend the FLSA to provide stiffer penalties for wage discrimination. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Protecting America’s Workers Act Would amend OSHA to a) expand coverage, b) increase protections for whistleblowers, and c) increase penalties. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 Would provide for uniform treatment of attorney-advance expenses and court costs in contingency fee cases. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Title VII Fairness Act Would amend Title VII to clarify the filing period applicable to charges of discrimination Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007 Would amend Title 5 of the United States Code to clarify which disclosures of information are protected from prohibited personnel practices. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

Workplace Religious Freedom Act Would amend Title VII to establish provisions with respect to religious accommodation in employment. Gruber Hurst Johansen & Hail, LLP

CHANGES IN LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW AND REGULATIONS