labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Effective November 21, 2009 employers are required to display a new federal poster. Employers must display a GINA poster in an area where all employees can see it.

This new federal posting requirement applies to virtually every employer, even if they never engage in genetic testing.

GINA, of course, is the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act of 2008. Under GINA, employers are prohibited from gathering information on an employee’s genetic makeup. Employers are also prohibited from considering an employee’s genetic information in making employment decisions.

Health insurance providers cannot discriminate against consumers, based on genetic information under GINA. For example, a health insurance company could not refuse to cover an individual, simply because her mother, grandmother and aunt all had breast cancer. Even if genetic testing showed that the consumer had a gene for breast cancer, that alone would not be sufficient cause for the health insurance company to deny her coverage.

The GINA prohibition on gathering genetic information also includes taking information on an employee’s family medical history – especially hereditary illnesses like heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and other inherited conditions.

GINA covers a wide variety of mental health conditions including depression, (more…)

As daily readers of this blog know, the ARRA or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides for extended COBRA coverage at reduced cost for many unemployed workers.

COBRA, or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, permits employees to extend their group health insurance coverage for up to 18 months when they lose coverage due to unemployment, a reduction in hours, divorce, or similar circumstances. COBRA also applies to dependents who lose group health insurance coverage for similar reasons, or due to the employee’s death. Employees who are fired for gross misconduct are not eligible for COBRA coverage.

The big news is that ARRA allows employees to pay just 35% of their usual COBRA premium. It also gives eligible employees a special period to sign up for COBRA coverage. This COBRA premium reduction covers any worker who has lost their job between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

Under the COBRA Premium Reduction, the employee can pay just 35% of the usual COBRA premium. The employer pays the remaining 65% of the premium, and then takes a tax credit on the quarterly federal payroll taxes. In this way, the federal government is picking up the tab on 65% of the employees group health insurance premium, and there is no gap in healthcare coverage.  

The COBRA Premium Reduction under the 2009 stimulus package applies for a maximum of 9 months.

Employees who did not opt to take advantage of COBRA coverage have a second chance (more…)

The District of Columbia recently released rules that will end employer’s confusion regarding the controversial Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008.

That law requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to eligible employees working in the District of Columbia for any absences related to physical or mental illness. The law also requires employers to give workers paid time off for preventative medical care or family care.

One of the more unusual aspects of the law is that it requires employers to give “safe” leave to employees who are associated with stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse.

The Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 went into effect on November 13, 2008. However, the D.C. Department of Employment Services or DOES just recently issued regulations for employers to follow.

Employers can comment on the “proposed” rules. Once the (more…)

Workers in New York State who wish to donate blood may take up to 3 hours of leave annually to go to blood drives off the worksite.

The opportunity is thanks to the New York Employee Blood Donation Leave law, which is enforced by the New York Department of Labor.

Encouraging participation in blood drives, the law requires that employers allow their workers to take the time off during their regularly schedule hours without fear of reprisal or pressure. There are limits on blood drive leave, of course. Workers may not carry the time over from one year to the next. Just because a worker fails to use 3 hours of leave in 2008 does not mean she or he is entitled to 6 hours in 2009.

Every New York employer must display a New York Blood Donation poster.

Blood donation leave must be offered above and beyond existing vacation time, sick leave, or personal leave. The employee must have (more…)

Nursing mothers must be given accommodation by their employers in New York under a new law.

The law is the New York Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, passed in 2007. New York joins several other states, including Colorado and Illinois, in passing a law protecting breastfeeding mothers who are working. The bill passed the New York general assembly almost unanimously.

Under the new law working mothers who are breastfeeding must be given a  time and place to pump milk. They are entitled to unpaid break time, and a room must be provided. The room should be private and near the work station. The law states that storage areas and bathrooms are not appropriate.

“This law is in place to make sure that nursing mothers have reasonable privacy and are treated in a respectful manner at their place of employment,” said state Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith. “I encourage anyone not being afforded these rights to contact the labor department at 1-800-447-3992 to speak to one of our investigators,” she added.

Under the labor law, Smith noted, any nursing mother in New York now has the right to express their breast milk in the workplace.

Women with infants and children make up one of the most significant, fast-growing segments of the workforce nationwide. The New York Department of health has said that continuing breastfeeding after going back to work is a big challenge for new mothers. Some give up nursing after returning because of the lack of privacy to express milk and because of unsupportive work environments as well as work schedules.

The New York law protects mothers during an infant’s first three years. Management may not discriminate against mothers who fall under the protection of the law.

According to the Lawyer’s Alliance for New York, employers would be well advised to include information in employee handbooks about the new rights of breastfeeding mothers.

State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., stressed the health benefits, both to infants and mothers, of breastfeeding, noting that such infants have less risk of contracting asthma, obesity, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. The effects carry throughout one’s lifetime, he said.