The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has just released two great articles dealing with some upcoming legislative issues. We will be sure to post more specific information on bills relating to background checks and employment screening in the coming weeks and months. These legislative efforts are more HR focused. The entire article can be found here: First 100 Days of Next President, Congress Will Be Busy (This is a SHRM member only article).
The major bills SHRM lists as priorities for our new president are as follows:
The Paycheck Fairness Bills – The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, The Paycheck Fairness Act adn the Fair Pay Act. All three have been introduced to negate a 2007 Supreme Court Ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.. That decision held that a Title VII pay discrimination claim must be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 or 300 days from when the allegedly discriminatory pay decision was made. The period for filing such a claim does not begin anew with each paycheck issued following the challenged pay decision, the Supreme Court ruled. In Ledbetter, the court held that the plaintiff’s claim had not been timely filed. Olson noted that the plaintiff in Ledbetter, Lilly Ledbetter, was a featured speaker at the Democratic Convention in July.
Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – This is probably the most controversial bill that will likely cross President Obama’s desk in the first 100 days. If enacted as written, “it will deprive workers of the right to secret-ballot elections, subject them to unrelenting peer pressure to sign cards and put our economic well-being in the hands of third-party arbitrators.”
Other bills include:
- The Employment Nondiscrimination Act
- The Crime Victims Employment Leave Act
- Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act. (RESPECT Act)
- The Equal Remedies Act
- The Arbitration Fairness Act
- The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act
Also listed in another article, the IRS has announced the 2009 Business Mileage Rates. Not sure why I am adding this but its good information nonetheless. The 2009 rate for business miles driven will be $.55 per mile according to the IRS.
[...] Tuesday, March 10th, the highly controversial Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was introduced in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. The bill (H.R. 1409, S. [...]