President Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Act into Law

Posted on January 30, 2009 by admin

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

On January 29th, 2009 the Lilly Ledbetter Act was signed into law. The act states that the 180 day statutory limit for pay discrimination starts with each discriminated paycheck received. The act was named after Lilly Ledbetter who sued Goodyear after claiming sexual harrassment and pay discrimination.

Here is some history as presented in Time:

• During her career at Goodyear, Ledbetter suffered sexual harassment and day-to-day discrimination. She testified before Congress in 2007 that a supervisor once asked for sexual favors in return for good job performance evaluations. After Ledbetter complained about the supervisor to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), he was reassigned, but Ledbetter said she felt isolated at work and experienced a long-term pattern of discrimination.

• Got periodic pay raises, but all compensation information was kept confidential at her company. She received a Top Performance Award in 1996.

• Shortly before she was due to retire in 1998, an anonymous co-worker slipped a note into her mailbox at work comparing her pay against that of three other male counterparts. Ledbetter was making $3,727 per month, while men doing the same job were paid $4,286 to $5,236 per month. Ledbetter filed a complaint with the EEOC and was then assigned to lift heavy tires, which she felt was retribution.

• Sued Goodyear, which claimed it paid Ledbetter less than other male workers because she was not a good worker. A jury awarded Ledbetter about $3.3 million, but the amount was later reduced to around $300,000. Subsequently, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that Ledbetter was not entitled to compensation because she filed her claim more than 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck.

After testifying before congress in 2007, the Democratic majority tried to get the bill passed several times along with the Paycheck Fairness Act, but they were always blocked by President Bush. Throughout this time, SHRM has continually taken issue with the measures outlined stating:

“SHRM adamantly opposes discrimination based on gender and believes any intentional misconduct against an employee should be promptly addressed and resolved. We also recognize that some court decisions have narrowed the scope of pay discrimination protections. As a result, we believe that it is appropriate and necessary for Congress to re-examine pay discrimination laws to determine if changes may be needed to restore protection under the law. However, SHRM opposes any efforts to eliminate the statute of limitations for filing claims or to limit legitimate employer pay practices. As a result, SHRM is opposed to both the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.”

HRSentry in the News

Posted on January 26, 2009 by admin

Check out today’s Burlington Free Press for an article on HR Management classes being offered through Champlain College. There are four online workshops running consecutively. Champlain College, in collaboration with HRSentry and our HR Made Simple Kit, a Web-based employment law database company with 12 libraries and 7,500 resources updated daily by a team of HR Professionals, will be offering:

Feb. 9-April 3: What You Must Know About Equal Opportunity Under the Law: How can you keep your organization safe?

April 13-May 15: Preventing Discrimination in Hiring and Managing Employees: What does it mean for your organization?

May 26-June 26: Motivating Employees for Optimal Performance: Effective Performance Management Systems.

Aug. 3-Sept. 4: Finding and Keeping the Right People: HR Best Practices.

For more information Champlain CPS, contact them at 888-545-3459 or online at www.go.champlain.edu/hrsentry.

News Archive Launched

Posted on January 23, 2009 by admin

The HRSentry news archive is now available online. Including tips and reminders that alert you to important dates and events such as law changes or date specific regulations that may require action, the newsletters keep you up to date on HR current events. You can recieve these newsletters by signing up for the Getting Started Kit(includes a host of other HR resources).

New FMLA Laws Go Into Effect Tomorrow – January 16th, 2009…Are you Ready?

Posted on January 15, 2009 by admin

Final Changes on Family Medical Leave Act – Effective January 16, 2009

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the Final Regulations on updates to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The main purpose of the regulations is to clarify rules for workers and employers. Here is a summary of some of the changes.

Employee Notice:
Under the final rule, employees must follow the employer’s normal and customary call-in procedures for FMLA notification, unless there are unusual circumstances. The final rules modify the previous provision that had been interpreted to allow some emlpoyees to notify their employers of their need for FMLA leave up to two full business days after an absence, even if they could provide notice sooner.

Employer Notice Obligations:
When an employee requests FMLA leave, or the employer acquires knowledge that an employee’s leave may be for a FMLA qualified leave reason, the employer must notify the employee of their eligibility to take FMLA leave within 5 business days (previously 2 business day), absent extreme circumstances.

Medical Certification Process:
The new rule recognizes the applicability of HIPAA’s medical privacy rule to communications between employers and employees health care providers. The rule adds a requirement that limits who may contact the health care provider and bans an employee’s direct supervisor from making the contact.

Serious Health Conditions:
The rule clarifies that if an employee is taking leave involving more than three consecutive calendar days of incapacity plus two visits to a health care provider, the two visits must occur with 30 days of the period of incapacity. It also defines periodic visits to a health care provider for chronic serious health conditions as at least two visits to a health care provider a year.

Military Caregiver Leave
Implements the requirement to expand FMLA protections for family members caring for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty. These family members are able to take up to 26 work weeks of leave in a 12-month period.

Leaves for Qualifying Exigencies for Families of National Guard and Reserves:
The new ruling allows families of National Guard and Reserve personnel on active duty to take FMLA-job-protected leave to manage their affairs for qualifying exigencies. Qualifying Exigencies are defined as:

Short-notice deployment
Military events and related activities
Childcare and school activities
Financial and legal arrangements
Counseling
Rest and recuperation
Post-deployment activities
Additional activities where the employer and employee agree to the leave.

As always, HRSentry recommends that you consult with an attorney should your organization have concerns or questions related to these new rules.

To learn more about these and other ongoing HR issues, log into your HRSentry account today.

New I-9 Form Deadline

Posted on January 12, 2009 by admin

On February 2nd a new I-9 form will be required for all employees who are new or in reverification process. The new form should not be used for existing employees. It must be used only for new hires and for reverification of current employees who only have temporary work authorization upon expiration of that authorization. Several important things to note about this are:

All documents presented during the verification process will now have to be unexpired. Previously, certain expired documents, such as a U.S. passport, were acceptable.
There’s a change in the acceptable “List A” identity and employment authorization documentation. You can no longer accept Form I-688, Temporary Resident Card; Form I-688A, Employment Authorization Card; or Form I-688B, Employment Authorization Card. They will all be obsolete on February 2.
Added to the acceptable documentation for “List A” are: foreign passports containing certain machine-readable immigrant visas and passports from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands if presented with an I-94 or I-94A arrival/departure record.

Starting February 2, the new I-9 form should be available at www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf. Or you can call the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at 1-800-375-5283.