Question 1: I have a practice in Minnesota. I just heard that a new law was enacted regarding employee personnel records. Can you tell me what the new law requires?
Answer: The law, called the Minnesota Personnel Records Statute, took effect Jan. 1, 2008. Employers must advise job applicants (upon hire) and active employees that they have a right to review their personnel record upon written request, once every six months. Employers must provide access to the personnel record no later than seven working days after receipt of the request if the personnel record is located in Minnesota, or no later than 14 working days after receipt of the request if the personnel record is located outside of Minnesota. The record, or an accurate copy, can be reviewed during normal hours at the employee's place of employment or at another reasonable nearby location, but need not be made available during the employee's actual working hours.
In addition:
1. The employer may require that the review be made in his or her presence or the presence of its designee;
2. After the review and upon the employee's written request, the employer is required to provide a copy, at no charge, of the record to the employee;
3. If the employee disputes specific information contained in the record, and an agreement is not reached to remove or revise the disputed information, the employee may submit a written statement, not exceeding five pages, identifying the disputed information and explaining the employee's position, which then must be included as part of the personnel record;
4. The employer may not retaliate against employees for asserting their rights under the Personnel Records Statute;
5. If the employer violates the Personnel Records Statute, the employee may bring a civil action to compel compliance and for actual damages, plus costs;
6. If the employer retaliates against an employee, the individual may bring a civil action for actual damages, back pay, reinstatement or other make-whole, equitable relief, plus reasonable attorney fees.
Upon termination, employees have a right to review their personnel record upon written request once within the year after separation of employment. Plus, requirement Nos. 2, 5, and 6 from above also apply.
Question 2: Is it true that New Jersey just passed a law protecting “gender identity and expression” in the workplace?
Answer: Yes. Effective June 18 the New Jersey Law against Discrimination was amended to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because of their “gender identity or expression.” Thus, employers must make appropriate modifications to their equal employment opportunities policy and should educate themselves on issues and terminology regarding gender identity or expression. New Jersey is just one of several states that have enacted laws of this nature.
Question 3: Can you tell me the state military leave laws that have been passed recently?
Answer: Maine: Maine's family and medical leave law has been amended to allow an employee to take a leave of absence when the employee's spouse, domestic partner, parent, or child, as a member of the state military forces or the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, dies or incurs a serious health condition while on active duty.
Maine’s family military leave law has been amended to include all employers with 15 or more employees. Employers must provide eligible employees up to 15 days of family military leave per deployment, if requested, either during the deployment, if the military member is granted leave, or during the 15 days immediately prior to or following deployment. Family military leave is available to employees who are the spouse, domestic partner, or parent of a Maine resident deployed for military service for periods lasting longer than 180 days.
Indiana: Employers with 50 or more employees for at least 20 calendar workweeks must provide employees who are the spouse, parent, grandparent, or sibling of an individual ordered to active duty up to 10 working days of leave either before, during, or after the individual's deployment. Employees must have worked for at least 12 months and 1,500 hours during that period.
New York: Employers must grant up to 10 days unpaid leave to employees whose spouses are members of the armed forces during periods of military conflict and who are on leave from the armed forces.
Illinois: Employers of 15 to 50 workers must grant up to 15 days of unpaid leave to the spouse or parents of a soldier called to active military duty for more than 30 days. Employers with more than 50 workers must grant up to 30 days of unpaid leave to the spouse or parents of a soldier called to active military duty for more than 30 days.
Minnesota: All employees are entitled to 10 days of unpaid leave if an immediate family member has been injured or killed while in active military service. Also, employees are entitled to up to one day of unpaid leave to attend a send-off or homecoming ceremony for an immediate family member.
Nebraska: Employers with between 15 and 50 employees must provide up to 15 days of unpaid family military leave to eligible employees, while employers of more than 50 employees must provide up to 30 days.
Question 4: One of my employees is a military spouse who recently asked for a leave of absence under the new Military Spouse Leave law. Am I required to provide this?
Answer: Yes, if you are an employer with 25 or more employees. Under the new law, effective Oct. 9, 2007, qualified employees may take unpaid leave for up to 10 days when their spouse is on leave from military deployment. A qualified employee is one who works for more than 20 hours per week and whose spouse is a member of the Armed Forces, National Guard, or Reserves, who has been deployed during a period of military conflict.
Question 5: I reside in New York. Is there a law that prohibits the use of employees’ Social Security Numbers?
Answer: The new law took effect Jan. 1, 2008. Under this law, employers are prohibited from publishing or making an individual’s Social Security Number (SSN) available to the general public, printing an individual’s social security number on any card or tag required for the individual to access products, services, or benefits provided by the company, requiring an individual to transmit his or her SSN over the Internet unless the connection is secure or the SSN is encrypted, requiring an individual to use his/her SSN to access an Internet Web site unless a password or unique personal identification number is also required to access the site, or printing an individual’s SSN on any materials mailed to the individual unless state or federal law requires the number to be on the document mailed.
The term Social Security Number includes the number issued by the federal Social Security Administration and “any number derived from such number.” Thus, employers who use employee SSNs in their entirety or any part of a Social Security Number as an employee identification number, or require employees to list the last four digits of such numbers for recordkeeping purposes, or require employees to print SSNs on employee identification tags, will be affected by this new law and should take steps now to change their recordkeeping requirements.
Question 6: Has there been a recent change to Ohio law regarding leaves of absence for pregnant employees?
Answer: The pregnancy discrimination law applies to employers with four or more employees and requires employers to allow a “reasonable period of time” for pregnancy leave. A reasonable period of time is < and has been interpreted in many different ways. Furthermore, there is no minimum number of hours the employee must work before these rights are triggered. In October, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission proposed a new amendment to the law that would require employers to provide a minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave for “pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions,” unless a shorter leave is required for business reasons. The new amendment has been challenged and may not be enacted. Until further notice, continue providing pregnant employees a leave of absence for a reasonable period of time as the current law states. In addition, at the end of the leave the employee must be reinstated to “her original position or to a position of like status and pay, without loss of service credits or other benefits.”
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