A number of significant changes in employment law have already occurred under the Obama administration. Despite the difficulty, employers need to keep up on the changes and the rights they give employees, because failing to do so could result in a lawsuit, according to John Susany, chair of the litigation and employment group at Stark & Knoll Co., L.P.A.
“Once a lawsuit is filed by an employee, other people at your company can see themselves in the same shoes and start to think, ‘Maybe I should bring a claim, too,’” says Susany.
Smart Business spoke with Susany about the new state and federal laws, and what you can do to stay out of trouble.
What changes in employment law do employers need to be aware of?
This June, the administrator of the Department of Labor issued an interpretation of the Family Medical Leave Act that allows employees who are in same-sex relationships to take time off to care for their partner’s child.
Under the FMLA, people who work for a company with 50 or more employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child — natural or adopted — or to care for a spouse or a child with serious health conditions. The new ruling says that an employee in a same-sex relationship can qualify for that same kind of leave to care for the child of a partner, even if there is no biological relationship between the employee and the partner’s child.
What else is new in federal employment law?
A new amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to offer ‘reasonable breaks’ for nursing mothers. An employer has to provide a private place that is shielded from view and free from intrusion. The law specifically excludes bathrooms as an appropriate place.
The law does not define what is ‘reasonable,’ but the employer cannot be the one scheduling break time. It’s the nursing mom who decides when she needs to take those breaks, which are permitted for up to one year after the birth of the child.
This applies to everyone, and if a company has a new mother, it has to react quickly. That means two things. You need to update your employment policies and you need to identify where you can create a private place.
However, the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers who have fewer than 50 employees to not comply if doing so will present an ‘undue hardship’ on the company in relation to ‘size, financial resources, and the nature or structure of the business.’ Should an employee sue, there would be a very specific factual inquiry on what you did and what you could have done under the circumstances.
But one thing is clear — you can’t put your head in the sand. You have to take affirmative action.
