by Burton J. Fishman
Sears recently reached a $6.2 million settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations stemming from the company’s alleged refusal to return injured workers to the job. This is the largest ADA settlement in a single lawsuit in EEOC history. More aggressive enforcement has been [...]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) — which would revise its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to comply with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) — is now available at www.HRhero.com/eeoc/eeoc_proposedregulations.pdf.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to comply with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which was passed late last year and went into effect January 1, 2009. The ADAAA and the proposed rule make it [...]

After many months of efforts to craft a health care reform bill that would garner at least some bipartisan support, Sen. Max Baucus unveiled today, September 16, 2009,  proposed legislation that has no Republican support as of yet, even from the three Republicans who were part of his efforts to craft a bipartisan bill.

On Tuesday, September 15, 2009,  the Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes under Chapter 4112, Ohio’s antidiscrimination statute, and R.C. 4111.17, which prohibits wage discrimination. The bill, H.B. 176, was introduced into the Ohio House in May and originally added “gender [...]

Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat from Pennsylvania, announced on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, at the AFL-CIO convention that he expects Congress to pass a version of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) before the end of the year. He referenced a compromise of the controversial bill that he has been working on and added, “We [...]

Since Congress returned from its recess this week, all eyes and attention have returned to health care reform. A framework for a potential bipartisan health care reform bill was made public this week. And President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress, outlining his plan for health care reform, though Republicans generally remain wary [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on September 4 that it will perform comprehensive safety inspections at nearly 4,000 high-hazard workplaces. These inspections are part of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting 2009 (SST-09) program, which helps direct enforcement resources to the types of workplaces that have the highest rate of injuries and illnesses.

It’s time for employers to examine their health benefits to see if they’re in compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008, which takes effect on January 1, 2010.