Labor&Employment Personnel File

Obama's Jobs Bill Bars Discrimination Against the Unemployed

In response to the continued downturn in the national economy, on September 12, 2011, President Barack Obama submitted to the United States Congress the American Jobs Act of 2011. While this bill has a number of provisions related to such measures as tax reduction and the funding for teachers, first responders and construction projects, it also includes a provision entitled the “Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011”. Significant for employers, this provision provides applicants for employment protection under federal law from employment-related discrimination due to their status as unemployed.

Health Care Reform is Already Underway - New Laws May Affect Your Company's Health Care Plans

Unbeknownst to some, health care reform has started already. Jackson Kelly lawyer Erin Magee recently wrote an article that explores three new laws that Congress quietly adopted and how they may impact employers’ group health care plans and the way that those plans cover participants and provide benefits.

 

To read the article that appeared in the Oct. 9, 2009 edition of The State Journal, click here.  

 

The State Journal is a weekly business newspaper in West Virginia.

President Signs Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

On Thursday, January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law.  The Act amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and modifies the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act to provide that an act of compensation-based discrimination occurs each time an employer issues a paycheck, pays benefits or otherwise compensates an employee in an unlawful manner.  The Act is a reaction to and expressly overturns the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007).