HOT TOPICS AND ACTION ITEMS FOR 2013

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HOT TOPICS AND ACTION ITEMS FOR 2013

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What Will We Cover?• New laws and regulations

– Religious dress; social media; pregnancy; disability

• Old laws that take effect this year– Health care– Trends and developments– National Labor Relations Board– Discrimination


Action Items!


CALIFORNIA – New Laws and Regulations


New in CA: Religious Dress, Grooming

• Protected by FEHA– Religious clothing– Jewelry– Facial hair

• Segregation prohibited– Do not isolate protected

employees from customers, public or coworkers


Personal Social Media Protected

• Cannot require:– Disclosure of user names, passwords– Personal social media access in front of manager

• Exceptions– Request to current employee as part of

investigation; reasonable belief access will result in relevant information

– Electronic device issued by employer


Pregnancy Disability Leave

New regulations as of Dec. 30, 2012

Increased Eligibility• 4 months of PDL per pregnancy, not year• No discrimination against “perceived” pregnancy• Examples of pregnancy-related disabilities

– Bed rest, gestational diabetes, loss of pregnancy…continued


PDL Regulations (continued)

Reinstatement • In past, denial if holding job would undermine

business• Now, refusal to reinstate ok only if employee would

not have been employed in same position for legit business reason unrelated to pregnancy (e.g. layoff)

• If job eliminated, provide notice of available jobs– “available” = open within 60 days of scheduled return


Sex Discrimination and Breastfeeding• “Sex” under FEHA includes breastfeeding and

related medical conditions

• Post updated Workplace Discrimination and Harassment poster (mandatory)


Production of Personnel Records

• Previously, employee could inspect most personnel records and obtain copies of signed documents

• Now, employee or the employee’s representative (with written authorization from employee) can obtain copies of personnel records


• All requests to inspect/receive personnel records must now be in writing

• Employer has 30 calendar days from date of receipt of written request; can be extended to 35 days by agreement

• Employees under CBA that has provisions for inspection of personnel records cannot make 1198.5 requests

• Penalty for noncompliance: $750

Production of Personnel Records (continued)


Itemized Wage Statements• Must retain exact copies of itemized statements

provided to employees, or computer-generated records of all the same info, for at least 3 years

• Penalty of up to $4,000 for incomplete or inaccurate wage statements


FEDERAL – New Laws and Regulations


Health Care for Employees


Patient Protection Affordable Care Act

• January 1, 2013 – Employers filing 250 or more W-2 forms must report the total cost of their group health benefit plan coverage on the W-2 forms

• January 1, 2013 – $2,500 cap/employee on Flexible Spending Accounts (regardless of the number of individuals covered)


PPACA (continued)• March 1, 2013 – Newly hired employees must be

provided the Notice of Exchange, including: 1) existence of an Exchange + description of the services

provided + how to contact the Exchange 2) if employer plan’s share of total benefit cost is less than

60%, employee may be eligible for a premium tax credit or a cost-sharing reduction through the Exchange

3) employee may lose any employer contribution toward the cost of coverage and all or a portion of employer contributions to coverage may be excluded from federal income tax


Health Care Action Items• Ensure your 2012 W-2s include the total cost of their

group health benefit plan coverage, if applicable

• Ensure your Flexible Spending Accounts have a $2,500 cap per employee

• Start preparing your Notice of Exchange information to be provided to employees hired on or after March 1, 2013 (be on the lookout for model notices)

• Plan on attending the “Healthcare Reform Update” on February 21, 2013


National Labor Relations Board

Activity


National Labor Relations Act• “Concerted activity”: Two or more employees

acting together to improve their terms and conditions of employment

• Applies to both union and non-union employees


NLRB and Social Media• Social media websites =

modern-day water coolers• Complaints about boss, wages,

safety issues, etc. are protected

• Ensure social media policy does not discourage protected concerted activity


NLRB and At-Will Policies• “I agree that the at-will relationship cannot be

amended, modified, or altered in any way.”• Problem: Union contract might change at-will status• Solution: Employer can modify status

• Review and revise at-will policy (handbook, offer letter, forms) regarding modification of at-will status, if necessary


NLRB and Internal Investigations• Right to self-organize includes right to discuss

discipline or disciplinary investigations• Need “legitimate and substantial business

justification” for requiring confidentiality:1. Witness needs protection2. Evidence is in danger of being destroyed3. Testimony may be fabricated4. Need to prevent a cover up

• Case by case


Investigation Action Items• Review and modify practices and policies

regarding confidentiality instructions


Discrimination:

Trends and Developments


Trend: Unemployment Discrimination Laws

• In 2011, the EEOC considered unemployment discrimination but did not issue an opinion

• No Federal law or California law (Governor vetoed bill)• In 2012, 17 states considered bills prohibiting

discrimination against the unemployed • NJ, OR, and the District of Columbia

passed laws


U.S. Supreme Court Shake Up?• Four U.S. Supreme Court Justices (Scalia, Kennedy,

Ginsburg, and Breyer) are in their seventies

HOT TOPICS AND ACTION ITEMS FOR 2013

Documents

religious stds

religious beliefs

religious creed

religious dress practice

religious grooming practice

generator of new laws

new protections

new ones