HR-Related Legislation

Transcription

1 HR-Related Legislation The following lists key pieces of HR-related legislation in chronological order. Although HR Certification Institute does not test dates, it may be helpful to see the dates so that you can put the legislation into its historical context False Claims Provides a percentage of recovered damages to anyone who identifies a claim that the federal government may have against a contractor (whistleblower rewards). Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection extended this concept to violations of securities laws Sherman Anti-Trust Prohibits businesses in interstate commerce from contracting, combining, or conspiring to restrain trade; prohibits attempting to monopolize the market in a particular area of business Clayton Exempts unions from the Sherman Anti-Trust ; limits the use of injunctions to stop a strike Railway Labor Provides for the right to organize and for majority choice of representatives; covers railroad and airline employees Davis-Bacon Requires payment of specified wage rates and employee benefits on federal government contracts for public works construction in excess of $2, Norris-LaGuardia Prohibits yellow-dog contracts; prohibits injunctions for nonviolent activity of unions (strikes, picketing, and boycotts) National Industrial Recovery 1934 Copeland Anti- Kickback 1934 Securities and Exchange 1935 National Labor Relations (NLRA; Wagner ) Guarantees employees the right to join unions and bargain collectively; was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935; replaced by the National Labor Relations. Precludes a federal contractor or subcontractor from in any way inducing an employee to give up any part of the compensation to which he or she is entitled under his or her contract of employment. Extends the disclosure doctrine of investor protection to securities listed and registered for public trading on our national securities exchanges. Provides for the right to organize and for collective bargaining; requires employers to bargain; unions must represent all members equally; covers nonmanagerial employees in private industry (not already covered by the Railway Labor ) Social Security Provides income and health care to retired employees and income to survivors of employees who have died; covers virtually all employers SHRM 1

2 1936 Walsh-Healey (Public Contracts ) 1938 Fair Labor Standards (FLSA) Guarantees prevailing wages to employees of government contractors with contracts of $10,000 or more. Establishes a minimum wage; sets standards for FLSA exemptions; addresses basic overtime pay provisions; controls working hours for children; establishes recordkeeping provisions Trademark Created federal protection for trademarks and service marks Labor-Management Relations (LMRA; Taft- Hartley ) Prohibits unfair labor practices of unions; outlaws closed shop; prohibits strikes in national emergencies; requires both parties to bargain in good faith; covers nonmanagerial employees in private industry (not covered by the Railway Labor ) Portal-to-Portal Amends the FLSA; defines hours worked and describes general rules for time worked Immigration and Nationality (INA) Fundamental body of U.S. immigration law. Provisions apply to all employers. Addresses employment eligibility and employment verification; defines the conditions for the temporary and permanent employment of aliens in the U.S U.S. Patent Established the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure (Landrum-Griffin ) 1963 Equal Pay (amendment to FLSA) 1964 Civil Rights (amended by Equal Employment Opportunity, 1972) Outlines procedures for redressing internal union problems; protects the rights of union members from corrupt or discriminatory labor unions; covers all labor organizations. Prohibits unequal pay for males and females with equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions; no employers are exempt. Prohibits discrimination or segregation on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin; establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; covers employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, and labor unions Executive Order Prohibits discrimination and requires federal contractors and subcontractors to take positive, results-oriented steps to eliminate employment barriers to women and minorities Service Contract Extends prevailing wage rates and benefit requirements to employers providing services under federal government contracts in excess of $2, SHRM

3 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment (ADEA), amended 1978, Consumer Credit Protection 1970 Fair Credit Reporting (FCRA), amended Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOA) 1973 Rehabilitation, amended Employee Retirement Income Security (ERISA) Prohibits discrimination against persons age 40 and over; identifies compulsory retirement for some workers; covers employers with more than 20 employees. Limits the amount of wages that can be garnished or withheld in any one week by an employer to satisfy creditors. Requires employers to notify an individual in writing if a report may be used; employer must also get person s written authorization before asking credit bureau for report; protects privacy of background information and ensures that information is accurate. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection amendment to FCRA mandates that employers who take adverse action against a prospective or current employee based on information contained in the prospective or current employee s consumer report will have additional disclosures to make to the affected individual. Established first national policy for safety and health; delivers standards that employers must meet to guarantee the health and safety of their employees. Amends Title VII of Civil Rights of 1964; increases enforcement powers of EEOC; adds employees of state and local government and educational institutions. Prohibits discrimination against persons with physical and/or mental disabilities and provides for affirmative action; covers government contractors and federal agencies. Establishes uniform minimum standards to ensure that employee benefit plans are established and maintained in a fair and financially sound manner; protects employees covered by a pension plan from losses in benefits due to job changes, plant closings, bankruptcies, or mismanagement; covers most interstate employers Privacy Requires that a government entity obtain a government employee s signed release before giving information about that individual to someone else Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance, as amended by Jobs for Veterans (JVA) Prohibits discrimination against certain veterans; covers government contractors with contracts in excess of $25, SHRM 3

4 1976 Copyright Defines the protection provided to authors of original works to exclude others from printing or otherwise duplicating, distributing, or vending copies of his or her literary, artistic, and other creative expressions, including through the various means of technology Mine Safety and Health 1978 Civil Service Reform 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Establishes mandatory mine safety and health standards for underground and surface mines; covers coal, metal, and nonmetal mines. Extends collective bargaining rights to federal employees. Defines pregnancy as a short-term disability and states that employees must receive the same benefits as for any other short-term disability; falls within Title VII prohibition of sexual discrimination; employers with 15 or more employees are covered Revenue Adds two important sections to the Tax Code relevant to employee benefits: Sections 125 and 401(k) Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures 1980 Guidelines on Sexual Harassment 1984 Retirement Equity (REA) 1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation (COBRA) Outlines equal employment opportunity principles to more clearly define adverse impact and test validation; assists employers in complying with federal regulations prohibiting discrimination. Coverage same as the Civil Rights of 1964, as amended; defines standards for what constitutes harassment. Provides certain legal protections for spousal beneficiaries of qualified retirement programs. Amends IRS code and ERISA to require that most employers provide continued group health insurance coverage to terminated or separated employees and family members at group rates (plus administrative costs), paid by employees Tax Reform Makes extensive changes in the tax laws, including reduction in tax brackets and all tax rates for individuals Immigration Reform and Control (IRCA) 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy (ECPA) Prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship; establishes penalties for hiring illegal aliens and requires employers to establish each employee s identity and right to work; requires an I-9 to be completed by the employer and new hire. Sets forth provisions for access, use, disclosure, interception, and privacy protections of electronic communications. Made up of Wiretap, which prohibits interception of s in transmission, and Stored Communications, which protects in storage SHRM

5 1988 Drug-Free Workplace 1988 Employee Polygraph Protection 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) 1990 Americans with Disabilities (ADA) 1990 Older Worker s Benefit Protection (OWBPA) Requires federal contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more to follow requirements to certify that they are maintaining a drug-free workplace. Generally prevents employers engaged in or affecting interstate commerce from using lie detector tests either for preemployment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions. Requires some employers to give at least 60 days notice of plant or office closings or mass layoffs; covers employers with 100 or more employees. Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities; covers virtually all employers with 15 or more employees. Prohibits discrimination with regard to benefits on the basis of age; covers employers with 20 or more employees; provides terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney Civil Rights Expands the possible damage awards available to victims of intentional discrimination to include compensatory and punitive damages Unemployment Compensation Amendments (UCA) 1993 Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), expanded 2008, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation (OBRA) 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights (USERRA) 1995 Congressional Accountability Imposes mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding on qualified retirement plan proceeds that a recipient does not roll over into another qualified plan. Allows employees to take 12 weeks per year of unpaid leave for birth or adoption of a child or serious health condition of themselves or an immediate family member. Expanded by the National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2008 and again for Fiscal Year 2010; added two new FMLA-qualifying events: qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave. Reduces compensation limits in qualified retirement programs; triggered increased activity in nonqualified retirement programs as well as some plan terminations. Requires that employers continue benefits and counting credited service for retirement plan purposes for employees called up for active duty in the uniformed services of the U.S. Requires that any federal employee relations legislation enacted by Congress applies to the employees of Congress as well SHRM 5

6 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) 1996 Mental Health Parity (MHPA) 1996 Small Business Job Protection 1996 Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) 1997 Foreign Corrupt Practices (FCPA) Ensures that individuals who leave or lose their jobs can obtain health coverage even if they or someone in their families has a serious illness or injury or is pregnant. Requires health insurance issuers and group health plans to adopt the same annual and lifetime dollar limits for mental health benefits as for other medical benefits. Affects employee benefit programs, changes the rules concerning 401(k) and IRA accounts, and provides tax incentives for businesses, along with changes in reporting requirements. Authorized by the Small Business Job Protection of 1996; encourages employers to hire targeted groups of job seekers by reducing employers federal tax liability. Prohibits American companies from making corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business Taxpayer Relief Created tax-advantaged savings mechanisms, including Roth IRAs and Education IRAs, for individual taxpayers Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation (EGTRRA) Adjusts vesting schedules, increases retirement plan limits, permits catch-up contributions by participants over age 50 in certain plans, and modifies distribution and rollover rules USA PATRIOT Gives federal officials greater authority to take measures to combat terrorism Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 2002 Homeland Security 2002 IRS Intermediate Sanctions 2004 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Requires administrators of defined contribution plans to provide notice of covered blackout periods; provides whistleblower protection for employees. Established to secure the United States against terrorist attacks and other threats and hazards and ensure safe and secure borders. Provides guidelines regarding the determination of reasonable compensation for executives of nonprofit organizations; allows the IRS to impose penalties when it determines that top officials have received excessive compensation from their organizations. Provides relief to employers using third parties to conduct workplace investigations; consent and disclosure requirements need not be followed if investigation involves suspected misconduct, a violation of the law or regulations, or a violation of preexisting written policies of the employer SHRM

7 2006 Pension Protection (PPA) 2008 National Defense Authorization Changes the laws that affect defined benefit and contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, and other issues related to retirement planning. Provides additional FMLA leave for military families, expanding FMLA to include employees caring for an injured service member as well as those who have a family member called to active duty ADA Amendments Amendments to Americans with Disabilities covering mitigating measures and definition of individuals regarded as having a disability Genetic Information Nondiscrimination (GINA) 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity (MHPAEA) 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and heath care. Amends the Mental Health Parity of Requires that plans that offer both medical/surgical benefits and mental health and/or substance use disorder benefits provide parity between both types of benefits with respect to financial requirements (e.g., deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, out-of-pocket expenses, and annual limits) and treatment requirements (e.g., frequency of treatment, number of visits, days of coverage). Creates a rolling time frame for filing wage discrimination claims; retains the 180-/300-day time frame outlined in the Title VII but allows the clock to renew each time employees receive compensation that is based on a discriminatory decision by the employer. Includes significant changes to COBRA continuation coverage rules and imposes new requirements regarding HIPAA. Requires covered entities, business associates, and vendors of personal health records to notify, in the event of a breach of any protected health information, each individual whose protected health information has been disclosed (or is reasonably believed by the covered entity to have been disclosed) without authorization Executive Order Requires contractors entering into contracts with the federal government to post notices informing employees about their rights under federal labor law and include provisions in their contracts that require their subcontractors to post the same employee notice SHRM 7

8 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PPACA) 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Starting in 2014, requires virtually all citizens and legal residents of the U.S. to have affordable, minimum health coverage (an exception is made for lower income individuals). Failure to do so results in an excise tax penalty. Also mandates that employers with more than 50 employees provide health-care coverage or pay a $2,000 per employee penalty and establishes a broad array of minimum benefit requirements for new plans. Wide range of mandates for public companies in the financial industry, including nonbinding vote for shareholders on executive compensation and golden parachutes, return of executive compensation based on inaccurate financial statements, ratio of CEO pay to average employee compensation, and financial rewards for whistleblowers. HR-Related Legislation (concluded) SHRM