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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the availability of the final rule implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. The final regulations provide nine rules of construction to guide the analysis of what constitutes a disability. Applying these rules of construction, the EEOC provided examples of impairments that should be concluded to be disabilities. The final rule can be found at www.federalregister.gov.

The 428th Session of the Maryland Legislature began on January 12, 2011. Here are some bills of interest to employers…

SB 971 seeks to prohibit an employer from requiring an employee or applicant for employment to disclose user names or passwords for specified Internet sites or web-based accounts and to prohibit an employer from taking, or threatening to take, specified employment action as a result of an employee’s refusal to disclose such information.

SB 969 would allow an employee to use administrative leave to attend a parent-teacher conference, provided the employee notified the employer at least 3 days prior, up to four hours per parent-teacher conference each school semester.

SB 781 / HB 976 would require specified employers who have been awarded a building or food service contract as a successor employer to retain specified workers for a 90-day transition employment period and would require such employers to maintain a preferential hiring list for building service workers not retained during the transition period. Employees would have a private right of action under this law.

SB 660 would prohibit an employer from requiring an individual to pay specified charges to a labor organization, from refusing to employ or continue employing an individual based on membership or non-membership in a labor organization, and from requiring an individual to refrain from joining or from requiring an individual to become a member of a labor organization.

SB 934 would prohibit an employer from using an applicant’s or employee’s credit report or credit history except under specified circumstances.

HB907 prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because of information indicating that he or she has been convicted of a criminal offense not directly related to employment. The bill does not apply to information relating to a sexual offense or sexual abuse of a minor.

HB988/SB716 seeks to increase the Maryland State minimum wage rate as follows: Beginning July 1, 2011, the minimum wage rate will be $8.25/hour, beginning July 1, 2012, the minimum wage rate will be $9.00/hour, beginning July 1, 2013, the minimum wage rate will be $9.75/hour, and beginning March 1, 2014 and thereafter, the minimum wage rate will be set by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The Commissioner will increase the rate after 2014 only if the Consumer Price Index decreases or remains the same.

SB600 prohibits an employer, or an employee of an employer, from subjecting an employee to abusive conduct that causes harm. Abusive conduct includes verbal abuse; verbal and physical conduct of a threatening, intimidating, humiliating, or cruel nature; and sabotage or undermining of another employee’s work performance. The bill provides legal relief to employees who have been harmed psychologically, physically, or financially by being deliberately subjected to such conduct, including punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.

HB1136 requires employers with 10 or more employees to provide compensation to an employee responding to a summons for jury service. The compensation will be based on the amount of the employee's average compensation less the amount of the State per diem and other applicable supplements paid.

Contact your legislative officials concerning these pending bills.

Download the full MCSHRM Newsletter.

This article is reprinted with permission from MCSHRM.