1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. civil rights

Laws Affecting the
Workplace
2009 VASWCD Annual Meeting
Laws Affecting the Workplace
There are a wide variety of laws
encompassing the workplace affecting
pay, benefits, severance, retirement,
hiring, discrimination, retaliation and
safety. In addition there are laws to
protect employee and employer rights.
Which of these is NOT a Federal Law?
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Equal Employment Opportunity
Fair Labor Standards Act
Smoke Free Workplace Act
Occupational Safety & Health Act
Family Medical Leave Act
Workers Compensation Act
Uniformed Services Employment and
Redemption Rights Act
Smoke Free Workplace Act
There is no act or law in Virginia mandating
a smoke free workplace; however, the
Virginia Dept of Health has a website with
tools to promote smoke free places
including one new law for restaurants.
VDH also has information to encourage
Smoke-free indoor environments which
can lead to:
Lower maintenance expenses (carpets, drapes,
cloths, paintwork).
Lower insurance premiums (fire, medical,
workers comp, liability).
Lower labor costs (absenteeism, productivity).
Mandatory Posters
Many state and federal laws require that
employers place required posters in where
employees or potential employees can
readily see them. There are fines
associate with failure to post the required
notices.
There are online resources for free posters.
http://www.doli.virginia.gov/publications/required_posters.html
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/posters.htm
The following are required Federal
Posters:
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act
(EPPA)
 The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
 The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
 Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
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The following are required Virginia
Posters:
 Occupational
Safety and Health: Job Safety
and Health Protection
 Unemployment Insurance: Notice to
Workers (VEC-B-29)
 Workers Compensation Insurance: Workers'
Compensation Notice (VWC 1)
 Employer Earned Income Tax Credit Poster
 Employer Virginia Credit For Low-Income
Individuals Poster
Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act originated in 1938
to provide for the establishment of fair
labor standards in employments in and
affecting interstate commerce, and for
other purposes. The U S Department of
Labor’s Wage & Hour Division has in depth
information on this law.
Fair Labor Standards Act
continued
The purpose is to assure that employees
entitled to overtime for hours worked over
40 are paid at time and one-half. There
are tests provided to determine if
employees are exempt from overtime.
The exemptions are for learned
professional, executive, administrative,
creative professional, computer
professional and outside sales.
Fair Labor Standards Act
continued
The test that will most likely be used in your offices is the
Administrative Exemption:
“The salary-basis test applies to the administrative exemption. Under this
exemption, the primary duty must be non-manual work related to
management or general business operations with the exercise of discretion
and independent judgment in matters of significance to the business.
So what does it mean to exercise discretion? Powell said an employee with
discretion should have the ability to compare and evaluate options and
choices in business decisions and be involved in the choices, which have to
be significant. Whether white or off-white stationery should be purchased
“will not get it,” he remarked.
The administrative exemption often is used for jobs in HR, accounting and
marketing and for other jobs “of that nature that run the business as a
whole.”
Fair Labor Standards Act
continued
Administrative Exemption
To qualify for the administrative employee exemption, all of the following tests
must be met:
• The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as
defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per
week;
• The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office
or non-manual work directly related to the management or
general business operations of the employer or the employer’s
customers; and
• The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion
and independent judgment with respect to matters of
significance.
Fair Labor Standards Act
continued
Overtime Pay vs. Compensatory Time
Unlike private entities, a public agency,
including a city, political subdivision may
provide compensatory time off (comp
time) in lieu of overtime payments IF a
policy is in place prior to the employee
performing any work.
Fair Labor Standards Act
continued
(o) Compensatory time
(1) Employees of a public agency which is a State,
a political subdivision of a State, or an interstate
governmental agency may receive, in
accordance with this subsection and in lieu of
overtime compensation, compensatory time off
at a rate not less than one and one-half hours
for each hour of employment or which overtime
compensation is required by this section.
Family Medical Leave Act
(a) An employer covered by FMLA is any person engaged in
commerce or in any industry or activity affecting
commerce, who employs 50 or more employees for
each working day during each of 20 or more calendar
workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
Employers covered by FMLA also include any person
acting, directly or indirectly, in the interest of a covered
employer to any of the employees of the employer, any
successor in interest of a covered employer, and any
public agency. Public agencies are covered employers
without regard to the number of employees employed.
Family Medical Leave Act
continued
•
Provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid family or
medical leave because of the birth of a child or the placement of a
child with the employee for adoption or foster care, because the
employee is needed to care for a family member (child, spouse, or
parent) with a serious health condition, or because the employee's
own serious health condition makes him or her unable to do his or
her job. Your job is protected while you are out.
•
In general, to be eligible an employee must have worked for an
employer for at least 12 months, have worked at least 1,250 hours
in the 12 months preceding the leave, and work at a site with at
least 50 employees within 75 miles.
Equal Employment Opportunity
There are many laws relating to Equal
Employment Opportunity. The EEO itself,
I-9’s or Employment Eligibility Verification,
Americans with Disabilities Act, Age
Discrimination, Race-Color-Religion-SexNational Origin, and newest Genetics.
Each of these requires employers to post
the appropriate posters. Statements need
to be included in recruitment
advertisements.
EEO
RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended,
protects applicants and employees from discrimination in
hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job
training, classification, referral, and other aspects of
employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex
(including pregnancy), or national origin. Religious
discrimination includes failing to reasonably
accommodate an employee’s religious practices where
the accommodation does not impose undue hardship.
EEO
DISABILITY
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, as amended, protect qualified individuals from
discrimination on the basis of disability in hiring,
promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training,
classification, referral, and other aspects of employment.
Disability discrimination includes not making reasonable
accommodation to the known physical or mental
limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a
disability who is an applicant or employee, barring undue
hardship.
EEO
AGE
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as
amended, protects applicants and employees 40 years of
age or older from discrimination based on age in hiring,
promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training,
classification, referral, and other aspects of employment.
EEO
SEX (WAGES)
In addition to sex discrimination prohibited by Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended, the
Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended, prohibits
sex discrimination in the payment of wages to
women and men performing substantially equal
work, in jobs that require equal skill, effort, and
responsibility, under similar working conditions,
in the same establishment.
EEO
GENETICS
NEW
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of
2008 protects applicants and employees from
discrimination based on genetic information in hiring,
promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training,
classification, referral, and other aspects of employment.
GINA also restricts employers’ acquisition of genetic
information and strictly limits disclosure of genetic
information. Genetic information includes information
about genetic tests of applicants, employees, or their
family members; the manifestation of diseases or
disorders in family members (family medical history);
and requests for or receipt of genetic services by
applicants, employees, or their family members.
EEO
RETALIATION
All of these Federal laws prohibit covered entities
from retaliating against a person who files a
charge of discrimination, participates in a
discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposes
an unlawful employment practice.
EEO
I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification
This poster is not mentioned on the DOL and VDOL websites, but it is a
mandatory form for hiring and posting. This administration has
made it clear that audits will be done. The I-9 form is mandated
by the US Department of Homeland Security in order to verify an
individual’s eligibility to work in the United States. It must be
completed in two stages.
1. The employee must complete his/her part on the first day of work.
2. The employer must complete the verification by the 3rd workday.
1
2
3
List A
List A includes
documents
that verify both
identity AND
employment
eligibility.
If a document
from List A is
provided, NO
other
documents
are needed.
List B AND List C
List B and List C
are used only if
the employee
does not have a
document from
List A.
List B documents
verify identity;
List C docs verify
employment
eligibility.
The employee must
provide one
item each from
List B AND List C.
Update and Information Sources
1.
2.
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