Challenges that keep business people awake at night focus oncompliance with ever-changing legal requirements.

These new laws add to the growing list of employee rights andemployer obligations over which companies and their executives canbe sued.

A failure to comply is a surerecipe for increased exposure to human resources liabilities.

While various state legislatures passed fewer pieces ofemployment legislation in 2009 and the first half of 2010 than inrecent years, a significant number of workplace issues wereimpacted by legislative enactments.

These new laws cover issues such as the expansion of prohibitedbases of discrimination, new employment law proceduralrequirements, leave of absence entitlements, privacy legislation,prohibitions on smoking in the workplace and new laws creatingworkers' rights.

PROHIBITED BASES OF DISCRIMINATION

Fifteen states enacted legislation which created or enlargedprotected category groups. Seven new laws added protection fordiscrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,while others prohibited discrimination based on credit history,military status, or the status of being a victim of domesticabuse.

The states in which the new protected categories were expandedby legislation include:

• Colorado (due to gender identity)
• Delaware (due to sexual orientation)
• Hawaii (due to credit history)
• Illinois (due to the status of obtaining a protective order fordomestic abuse)
• Indiana (due to the status of providing emergency responseservices as well as raising the age for protection for agediscrimination from 70 years old to 75 years old)
• Iowa (on account of sexual orientation and the status of beingan emergency response provider)
• Maine (on account of sexual orientation)
• New York (due to the status of having been a victim of stalkingor domestic abuse)
• North Dakota (on account of having the status of being anemergency response provider)
• Ohio (on account of military status)
• Oregon (due to whistleblower status)
• Wisconsin (due to membership in the Civil Air Patrol)

NEW PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKPLACE LAWS

Several states enacted legislation, or amended existinglegislation, which changes or enlarges procedures and substantiverights for litigation of employment discrimination claims.

• In Illinois, a new statute of limitations was established forwage discrimination complaints (of one year).
• In Iowa, an Equal Pay Act statute was passed.
• In Maine, the applicable statute of limitations for employmentdiscrimination was extended to 300 days from 180 days.
• In Maryland, a “mini-Ledbetter” Act was passed to establish anew statute of limitations for pay discrimination complaints.
• In New Jersey and Oregon, causes of action were established forreligious accommodation.
• In Vermont, a cause of action was established for retaliationdue to attending a town meeting.

REDUCTION-IN-FORCE/”MINI” WARN LEGISLATION

Iowa, New Hampshire and New York enacted laws to regulate noticeprocedures for mass layoffs and reductions-in-force.

In Mississippi and South Carolina, new causes of action wereestablished for workers laid off on account of being replaced by anunauthorized alien.

WARN is the federal law known as the Worker Adjustment &Retraining Notification Act, which requires 60 days advance noticeof plant closing and mass layoffs.

PRIVACY LEGISLATION

Four states enacted laws regarding worker privacy. Connecticutpassed a statute regulating electronic monitoring of employees andrequiring creation of privacy policies by companies.

A law regulating the use and storage of biometric informationsuch as retina/iris scans, fingerprints, voice prints and scan offace geometry was enacted in Illinois.

Missouri enacted a law prohibiting the placement of microchipson workers.

Legislation regulating the use and storage of documents withSocial Security numbers was passed in New York.

Furthermore, laws providing rights to mothers to breastfeedinfants in the workplace were enacted in Arkansas, Maine,Massachusetts, North Dakota and Washington.

NEW LEAVE OF ABSENCE ENTITLEMENTS

Legislation to expand leave of absence entitlements was thesubject of extensive debate at the state level during 2009 and2010.

Fifteen states enacted or expanded:

• Military leave rights (Florida, Rhode Island and Oregon)
• Rights for victims of domestic abuse (Illinois andWashington)
• Parental leave rights (Colorado and Nevada)
• Forms of paid sick leave and flex leave (the District ofColumbia, Maryland and New Jersey)
• Bereavement leave for same-sex partners (New York)
• Leave for emergency response providers (Indiana, Iowa, NorthDakota and Wisconsin).

MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT & LABOR LEGISLATION

Several states also passed miscellaneous labor/employmentlaws.

These included wage transparency and wage setting notificationlaws in Colorado and New York; laws authorizing the carrying offirearms by employees on company property (typically, in parkinglots) in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Utah;laws regulating use of criminal background and credit historyinformation in Illinois, Massachusetts and Oregon; and bans onsmoking in the workplace, enacted by Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, NorthCarolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In addition, New York enacted several employment and labor lawsgranting anti-discrimination protections to domestic workers. Thisprohibits discrimination and harassment on the grounds of gender,race, religion and national origin. It also establishes criminaland monetary penalties for misclassification of employees asindependent contractors on construction projects.

To obtain a copy of the 2010 Fifty State Survey, contact theauthor at [email protected].

Gerald L. Maatman Jr. is a partner withSeyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago.