Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Www.duanemorris.com ©2010 Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris – Firm and.

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: "Www.duanemorris.com ©2010 Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris – Firm and."— Presentation transcript:

1 www.duanemorris.com ©2010 Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris – Firm and Affiliate Offices | New York | London | Singapore | Los Angeles | Chicago | Houston | Hanoi | Philadelphia | San Diego | San Francisco | Baltimore | Boston | Washington, D.C. Las Vegas | Atlanta | Miami | Pittsburgh | Newark | Boca Raton | Wilmington | Cherry Hill | Princeton | Lake Tahoe | Ho Chi Minh City | Duane Morris LLP – A Delaware limited liability partnership HOT TOPICS AND ACTION ITEMS FOR 2013

2 www.duanemorris.com 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 1

3 www.duanemorris.com Action Items! 2

4 www.duanemorris.com CALIFORNIA – New Laws and Regulations 3

5 www.duanemorris.com 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 4

6 www.duanemorris.com 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 5

7 www.duanemorris.com 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 6

8 www.duanemorris.com 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 7

9 www.duanemorris.com Sex Discrimination and Breastfeeding “Sex” under FEHA includes breastfeeding and related medical conditions Post updated Workplace Discrimination and Harassment poster (mandatory) 8

10 www.duanemorris.com 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 9

11 www.duanemorris.com 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 10 Production of Personnel Records (continued)

12 www.duanemorris.com 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 11

13 www.duanemorris.com 12 FEDERAL – New Laws and Regulations

14 www.duanemorris.com Health Care for Employees 13

15 www.duanemorris.com 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) 14

16 www.duanemorris.com 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 15

17 www.duanemorris.com 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 16

18 www.duanemorris.com 17 National Labor Relations Board Activity

19 www.duanemorris.com 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 18

20 www.duanemorris.com 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 19

21 www.duanemorris.com 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 20

22 www.duanemorris.com 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 protection 2.Evidence is in danger of being destroyed 3.Testimony may be fabricated 4.Need to prevent a cover up Case by case 21

23 www.duanemorris.com Investigation Action Items Review and modify practices and policies regarding confidentiality instructions 22

24 www.duanemorris.com 23 Discrimination: Trends and Developments

25 www.duanemorris.com 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 24

26 www.duanemorris.com U.S. Supreme Court Shake Up? Four U.S. Supreme Court Justices (Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Breyer) are in their seventies 25


Download ppt "Www.duanemorris.com ©2010 Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris – Firm and."

Similar presentations


Ads by Google