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Breaking News

Government Issues Rules Requiring Parity in Treatment of Mental, Substance Use Disorders

The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.

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US Department of Labor's OSHA Proposes Recordkeeping Change to Improve Illness Data

OSHA is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (recordkeeping) regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). 

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COBRA Premium Reduction Extension Model Notices and Revised FAQs Now Available

The Department of Labor has created model notices to help plans and individuals comply with the COBRA subsidy extension requirements. Each model notice is designed for a particular group of qualified beneficiaries and contains information to help satisfy ARRA's notice provisions, including those added by the 2010 DOD Act.

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EEOC: Job Bias Charges Approach Record High; Retaliation Ties for Most Common Type of Charge

The EEOC reports that it collected $376 million for victims of discrimination in fiscal year (FY) 2009.  The most frequently filed charges were charges alleging discrimination based on race (36%), retaliation (36%), and sex-based discrimination (30%).

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Featured Article

Employee Endorsements of Your Goods or Services on Social-Networking Sites May Violate FTC Act

Susan Fahey Desmond, Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A.
Under recently issued Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, an employer may be held liable for an employee's false or misleading advertising stemming from an employee's online postings about the employer's products or services.  And it might surprise you what false or misleading means!

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Employment Law Update

Company's Prompt Remedial Action Blocks Liability for Sexual Harassment by Co-Worker

David A. Campbell, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
Although proper training can help prevent harassing conduct from taking place in the workplace, no workplace is perfect.  When misconduct takes place and the employer becomes aware of the misconduct, prompt and effective action in response to the misconduct can shield the employer from liability.

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Seventh Circuit Looks at Religion in the Workplace from Two Different Perspectives

In December 2009, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided two religion-based employment cases.  The first case addressed the establishment of religion by a public sector workplace, while the second addressed purported discrimination by an employer based on the religious beliefs of two employees.

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Rarely Required Duty May Be an Essential Job Function Under the ADA

Lawrence Peikes and Bryan Watson, Wiggin and Dana LLP
A court has held that a rarely required job function may be deemed essential if the potential consequences of employing an individual who is unable to perform the function are sufficiently severe.  The ruling clarifies the circumstances under which job requirements may be deemed essential.

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Court-Sanctioned Affirmative Action Plan May Be Direct Evidence of Discrimination

Susan Fahey Desmond, Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A.
Many employers have affirmative action programs.  If the law requires an employer to have and follow an affirmative action program, can it be evidence of discrimination?  The Eighth Circuit recently found that a plaintiff can use an employer's affirmative action program as evidence that the employer failed to promote her due to her race.

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HR Update

Auditing HR Handbooks and Documentation to Ensure ADA and FMLA Compliance

The revised FMLA regulations consolidate all the employer notice requirements into a "one-stop" section of the regulations.  Employers will be required to provide employees with a general notice about the FMLA, an eligibility notice, a rights and responsibilities notice, and a designation notice.

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Tip of the Week

What Is Meant by "Knew or Should Have Known" in Discrimination and Harassment Cases?

An employer can be charged with knowledge of the discrimination or harassment if the employer knew or should have known of the conduct in question.  The following cases demonstrate this issue.

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