2006 State Employment Law Changes At-A-Glance

February 7, 2007

In 2006, as in recent years, state legislatures passed numerous laws relevant to the workplace. The latest laws continue to expand employee protections and rights. Many of the new requirements parallel proposed federal legislation. Employers in jurisdictions which have not passed such enactments in many cases may expect their state legislatures to consider similar legislation in the near future.

The major issues addressed by state legislatures in 2006 include:.

1. Minimum Wage - Over a dozen states passed legislation increasing the state minimum wage. (Congress is expected to increase the federal minimum wage in 2007. See House and Senate Pass Bills to Increase Federal Minimum Wage)
2. Protected Classifications – States and localities continued to take measures to protect employees from discrimination based on immutable characteristics. The District of Columbia, for example, enacted legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression and the Washington state legislature prohibited Washington employers from discriminating against applicants or employees based on sexual orientation.
   Further, many states, most recently Iowa in 2006, have enacted prohibitions on employer discrimination based on genetic predisposition or family history. Congress is expected to consider a similar measure this year.
3. Leave Rights – In addition to numerous state laws expanding employees' rights to job-protected leave for absences necessitated by extended military service, new legislation in certain jurisdictions imposes obligations on employers with regard to military spouses. For example, Minnesota now require employers to provide time off in certain cases for military spouses for homecomings, funerals, and send off events, while New York mandates ten days unpaid leave for any purpose).
   San Francisco, meanwhile, became the first locality in the United States to enact legislation requiring all private sector employers in the city to provide paid sick leave benefits to employees.
   Congress also is expected to consider legislation expanding employees' leave rights in 2007. Senator Dodd of Connecticut has pledged to introduce legislation both requiring paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and expanding the Act's coverage to smaller employers.
4. Breastfeeding – At least seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee) passed legislation providing mothers with the right to breastfeed or express breast milk in any location. Over half the states now provide such lactation rights.
5. Smoking – Approximately 10 jurisdictions passed legislation prohibiting or restricting smoking in the workplace in 2006. As of January 2007, approximately 20 states (not including Arizona and Puerto Rico where prohibitions go into effect later this year) and many other localities have imposed such prohibitions or restrictions.
6. Privacy – As in recent years, numerous states, including New York, enacted legislation restricting employers' use and dissemination of employees' social security numbers
7. Miscellaneous – State legislatures also addressed issues ranging from protecting employees from intimidation through employer actions as to their voting preferences in elections (Maryland and New Jersey) and prohibiting videotaping in restrooms and locker rooms (New York) to requiring agencies that sell mandatory workplace postings to advise employers of their right to obtain free posters from the government (New York) and affording whistleblower protection to employees (Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey and New York).

BACK TO EPL NEWS