01/04/2012

Executive Briefing - Employment & Labor Law/Employee Benefits, January 2012

Executive Briefing is an electronic newsletter that focuses on emerging developments in employment, labor law and employee benefits. View the full text version of Executive Briefing. The following topics are included in the January issue:

EEOC Reports Record Numbers for Fiscal Year 2011
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received a record number of bias charges–a total of 99,947 charges, the highest number of new charges in the agency's history, according to the EEOC's Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2011.

OFCCP's Proposed Rule Revising Regulations on Disabled Employees and Applicants
On December 9, 2011, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the federal register. The rule proposes a requirement that federal contractors establish a hiring goal of 7 percent of their employees be persons with disabilities in each job group of the contractors' workforce as reported in their affirmative action program.

Expect EEOC Continued Crackdown in 2012 on Hiring Practices, Medical Examinations and Leave Policies
The EEOC appears skeptical about any testing criteria employers use to screen out applicants, and recent cases suggest new efforts by the EEOC to crack down potential employer discrimination against disabled individuals in the hiring process. Specifically, the EEOC appears particularly concerned with employers' use of personality tests on the theory that such tests tend to screen out those who suffer from disabilities.

Boeing Employee's Age Claim Flies On–ADA Claim Crashes and Burns
In a pending lawsuit in the District of Kansas, a Boeing employee alleges both disability and age claims against Boeing. Because the employee failed to demonstrate that his condition was a determining factor in Boeing's decision to include him in a reduction in force or that gave rise to an inference of disability discrimination, the court granted Boeing's motion for summary judgment on plaintiff's disability claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). 

Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rule to Revise Companionship and Live-In Worker Regulations 
In response to the growing demand for long-term, in-home care, the Wage & Hour Division of the Department of Labor issues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on December 23, 2011, which will provide minimum wage and overtime protections for workers who provide in-home care services for the elderly and sick.

Broad Power: The EEOC's Use of Subpoenas
Title VII and other EEOC-enforced statutes, including the ADAAA and Age Discrimination in Employment Act, authorize the EEOC to issue administrative subpoenas for purposes of gathering information, documents and witnesses during investigations.