Legislative Updates

  • 03/18/2022 10:22 AM | Anonymous

    The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a measure that would protect employees from discrimination based on natural hair and hairstyles associated with race and national origin. 

    The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act—HR 2116—passed the House in a 235-to-189 vote on March 18.

    The proposed legislation would prohibit employers from firing, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating against workers based on "hair texture or hairstyle, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin."

    This would be the first piece of federal legislation addressing appearance discrimination as it specifically relates to a worker's protected characteristic—in this case, race.

    Employers should note that some states already protect workers based on natural hair and hairstyle. California became the first state to pass a CROWN Act in 2019, and more states and cities followed suit.


  • 03/17/2022 10:25 AM | Anonymous

    The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prohibit employers from enforcing arbitration agreements that workers sign before disputes arise. However, the Democrat-backed measure may face resistance in the Senate because Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the bill's reach.

    The action comes on the heels of a new law banning such agreements for sexual-harassment claims, but the proposed legislation is much more expansive.

    The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, H.R. 963, passed the House in a 222 to 209 vote on March 17. The proposed legislation would broadly ban employers and workers from agreeing in advance to have legal claims decided by a neutral third party—an arbitrator—rather than a court. 

    Notably, the Senate declined to pass the bill in 2019, and many business groups, including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), oppose H.R. 963.

    If enacted, the FAIR Act would invalidate pre-dispute arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers for employment, consumer, antitrust and civil rights disputes.

    If the FAIR Act is ultimately signed into law, it would take effect immediately and "apply with respect to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after such date," according to the bill. The law would not apply to arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements between employers and labor unions. 

    Employers should note that the new law banning pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate sexual-harassment claims, H.R. 4445, already took effect.

    For now, federal law does not ban pre-dispute arbitration agreements for other types of employment-related claims.
  • 03/17/2022 8:17 AM | Anonymous

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released a technical assistance document, “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law,” and an update to its COVID-19 “What You Should Know” explaining discrimination against employees and job seekers with family caregiving responsibilities.

    The technical assistance provides pandemic-related examples of discrimination against caregivers. For example, it would be illegal if an employer refused to hire an applicant who is the primary caregiver of an individual with a disability who is at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 out of fear that the employer’s healthcare costs would increase. It also would be unlawful for an employer to refuse to promote a woman based on assumptions that, because she was female, she would focus primarily on caring for her children while they quarantined or attended school remotely.  

    Additionally, the technical assistance document addresses situations in which caregivers may encounter illegal harassment, retaliation, or discrimination based on pregnancy, gender, association with someone who has a disability, or other bases protected by EEOC-enforced laws. 

    In addition to this new technical assistance document and related “What You Should Know” updates, the EEOC also released a short video explaining caregiver discrimination in English and Spanish. More information about caregiver discrimination is available in the EEOC’s caregiver discrimination policy guidance, associated fact sheet, and employer best practices document.

  • 01/13/2022 3:38 PM | Anonymous

    The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) emergency temporary standard requiring businesses with at least 100 employees to ensure workers are vaccinated against the coronavirus or wear masks and undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. But it allowed the federal government to require COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers.

    The first decision criticized OSHA's rule as a "blunt instrument" that "draws no distinctions based on industry or risk of exposure to COVID-19." It also called the rule a "significant encroachment into the lives—and health—of a vast number of employees." The Occupational Safety and Health Act does not plainly authorize the rule, the court stated.

    In the second decision, the court noted that "health care workers around the country are ordinarily required to be vaccinated for diseases." 


  • 01/10/2022 1:48 PM | Anonymous

    While the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on whether or not to enforce it, the Iowa Division of Labor stated it will not.

    “As a state plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor is charged with protecting the health and safety of those in the workplace and has the authority to enforce workplace safety and health standards for Iowa businesses,” explained Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts. “Iowa doesn’t have a standard requiring the Covid-19 vaccine or testing. But after closely reviewing the federal OSHA Vaccine Mandate, Iowa has determined it will not adopt the federal standard. Iowa has concluded that it is not necessary because Iowa’s existing standards are at least as effective as the federal standard change.”

    With Commissioner Roberts’ decision, Iowa employers and their employees are not required to comply with the federal OSHA Vaccine Mandate.


  • 01/04/2022 9:47 AM | Anonymous

    The IRS have confirmed there will be an automatic extension of time to provide employees with forms 1095-B and 1095-C. The automatic extension will provide an additional 30 days to provide the forms. The deadline is usually January 31st, but with the extensions, the deadline for 2022 is delayed to March 2, 2022. In future years, if the 30-day extension falls on a weekend, the due date will be the next business day following that weekend.

    Note, there is no extension of the good faith standard for 2021 filings, so employers will want to make sure to thoroughly review forms for accuracy and correct any errors as soon as possible.

  • 12/29/2021 10:02 AM | Anonymous

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is withdrawing all but the record-keeping requirements under a COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) that applied only to health care workers.

    The health care ETS, which was issued in June, focused on settings where coronavirus patients are treated, including hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The directive required covered employers to implement certain COVID-19-related safety measures and provide workers with paid time off to get vaccinated.


  • 12/29/2021 7:45 AM | Anonymous

    The CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

  • 12/20/2021 8:05 AM | Anonymous

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) vaccine-or-testing emergency standard is again in effect.

    Late Friday,12/17, night, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on the rule requiring businesses with at least 100 employees to ensure workers are either vaccinated or tested weekly and wear masks.

    Employers now have until Jan. 10 to comply with the standard, according to OSHA. However, the ruling was quickly appealed on an emergency basis to the Supreme Court.

    OSHA will not enforce any of the requirements until Jan. 10. Additionally, the agency “will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before Feb. 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard,” according to an OSHA update.


  • 12/14/2021 9:20 AM | Anonymous

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 technical assistance today adding a new section to clarify under what circumstances COVID-19 may be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act.

    EEOC’s new questions and answers focus broadly on COVID-19 and the definition of disability under Title I of the ADA and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, which both address employment discrimination. The updates also provide examples illustrating how an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 or a post-COVID condition could be considered to have a disability under the laws the EEOC enforces.

    Key information includes:

    • In some cases, an applicant’s or employee’s COVID-19 may cause impairments that are themselves disabilities under the ADA, regardless of whether the initial case of COVID-19 itself constituted an actual disability.
    • An applicant or employee whose COVID-19 results in mild symptoms that resolve in a few weeks—with no other consequences—will not have an ADA disability that could make someone eligible to receive a reasonable accommodation.
    • Applicants or employees with disabilities are not automatically entitled to reasonable accommodations under the ADA. They are entitled to a reasonable accommodation when their disability requires it, and the accommodation is not an undue hardship for the employer. But, employers can choose to do more than the ADA requires.
    • An employer risks violating the ADA if it relies on myths, fears, or stereotypes about a condition and prevents an employee’s return to work once the employee is no longer infectious and, therefore, medically able to return without posing a direct threat to others.
    On July 26, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued Guidance on ‘Long COVID’ as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557. The DOJ/HHS Guidance focuses solely on long COVID. This new EEOC technical assistance focuses more broadly on COVID-19 and does so in the context of Title I of the ADA and section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, which cover employment.

    To assist the public, the EEOC has updated its guidance on employment and COVID-19 approximately 20 times throughout the pandemic.

Sioux Empire SHRM is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization. | PO Box 1302 | Sioux Falls, SD 57101 | Chapter #217

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