In 2015, employers will face a number of workplace challenges when it comes to managing, monitoring and maintaining their workforce. From providing paid sick leave and equal opportunity under state and municipal laws to extending equal rights and benefits to same-sex partners and accommodating pregnant women, complying with these new obligations may require you to change the way you operate your business. These issues are not only scary, but can be costly for employers in terms of time, money and resources. Here are the top 15 employment law Issues employers cannot afford to ignore in 2015: 1. Off-Duty Use of Medical and Recreational Marijuana 2. Paid Sick Leave 3. Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate 4. Immigration 5. Protecting Company and Employee Privacy in the Digital Age 6. Safe Driving Laws 7. E-Cigarette Use in the Workplace 8. Reasonably Accommodating Pregnant Women 9. Wellness Programs Conflicting with ADA, GINA, and FMLA 10. Growing Acceptance of LGBT Rights and Same-Sex Marriage 11. Workplace Bullying 12. Addressing Domestic Violence 13. Minimum Wage and Wage and Hour Laws 14. Providing Workplace Protections to Interns and Volunteers 15. Ban the Box

1. 15 Issues Employers Can’t Afford to Ignore

2. Failure to comply with the following new
laws & employment trends could result in:
• Civil fines
• Costly lawsuits
• Criminal penalties
• Harm to your business’ reputation
• Countless hours spent towards litigation
and investigation of claims

3. The EEOC won $294M in recoveries
and settled 136 lawsuits for $22.5M
Top 10 settlements in wage + hour
class actions totaled $215.3M
2014

4. 21,934 unfair labor practice
charges were filed with the NLRB
Wage + Hour Division collected
$249,954,412 in back wages
2013

5. Off-Duty Use of Medical + Recreational Marijuana

6. 25 states have now legalized the use of
medical marijuana with a handful of them
legalizing the use of marijuana for
recreational purposes.

7. 2
1 Challenges in employee discipline arise for
off-duty use
Reasonable accommodations for an
employee’s use of medical marijuana may
need to be provided
The IssueS:

8. Paid Sick Leave

9. New laws are requiring employers to
provide employees with full wages for
leaves of absence due to illness, injury
or medical condition, and medical
diagnosis or treatment.

10. 2
1
The IssueS:
Tracking how time off is accrued
Ensuring notice of leaves are provided
Calculating the time required by the
employer for paid sick leave3

11. Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate

12. Effective January 1, 2015 the
employer (aka “pay or play”)
mandate under the ACA requires
large applicable employers to either
offer affordable health coverage to
its employees or pay a penalty.

13. Employers should proceed cautiously
when considering to reduce its workforce
size to avoid the decision of having to “pay
or play”
The decision to “pay or play” is complex
and involves a number of factors
2
1
The IssueS:

14. Immigration

15. On November 20, 2014, President Obama
issued an Executive Order which could
allow as many as 5 million undocumented
immigrants to remain in the US if they
meet certain conditions.

16. 2
1
The IssueS:
Individuals requesting work permits may get
deportation relief for three years at a time
Once an employee comes forward and identifies
him/herself as a undocumented, an employer
could be sanctioned under federal law for now
knowingly employing an undocumented worker

17. Protecting Company + Employee Privacy in the Digital Age

18. With the rise of computer usage, email, the
internet, smart phones and other mobile
devices, protecting company and employee
privacy, safety and security has become
progressively challenging.

19. 2
1
The IssueS:
3
Potential damage to your brand’s reputation if
an employee badmouths your company on
social media
Risks to loss of confidential information and
trade secrets
Emerging technologies, such as Google Glass
and cloud computing, also create new risks

20. Safe Driving Laws

21. In 2012—3,328 people were killed
and an estimated 421,000 people
were injured in distracted driving
related accidents—a 9% increase
over 2011.

22. 2
1
The IssueS:
In recent years, OSHA has increased its
enforcement related to workplace driving,
including distracted driving policies
Under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, it is part
of an employer's legal duty to provide a safe
working environment which includes
keeping its drivers from texting while driving

23. E-Cigarette Use in the Workplace

24. The use of e-cigarettes—electronic,
vapor-based cigarettes aka e-cigs—is on
the rise in the US as an alternative to
cigarettes and cigars.

25. 2
1
The IssueS:
Some individuals have reported to the FDA that
exposure to e-cig vapor has prompted respiratory
problems, nausea, headaches, coughing and
irritation to the eyes, nose and throat
3 states to date (CO, NJ + TN) and several local
governments have implemented laws that prohibit
e-cigs in the workplace

26. Reasonably Accommodating Pregnant Women

27. Over the past year, there is growing trend
to provide equal access and reasonable
accommodations to pregnant women in
the workplace.
The US Supreme Court recently addressed
this issue in Young v. UPS.

28. 2
1
The IssueS:
In July 2014, the EEOC released comprehensive
guidance regarding accommodating pregnancy in
the workplace ranging from granting leave to
temporarily reassigning job duties
For new mothers—providing lactation
accommodations and breastfeeding support may
also be included

29. Wellness Programs Conflicting with ADA, GINA + FMLA

30. With the ACA providing incentives for
workplace wellness programs, an
increasing number of employers today
are offering them as a way to help
employees be healthy and manage
health care costs.

31. 2
1
The IssueS:
As part of a wellness program, a health risk
assessment may be administered that could
present conflicts with HIPAA, ADA + GINA
regulations
The EEOC has been cracking down on pursuing
and penalizing employers who implement
involuntary wellness programs

32. Growing Acceptance of LGBT Rights + Same-Sex Marriage

33. 2014 was a historic year for gay rights and
the rights of same-sex couples to marry.
To date, 36 states permit same-sex
marriage.

34. 2
1
The IssueS:
In US v. Windsor, the Defense of Marriage Act was
declared—defining marriage as only between man
and woman and limiting the term "spouse" to an
individual of the opposite sex, unconstitutional
July 2014—President Obama signed Executive
Order 13672 which prohibits discrimination
against employees & applicants based on sexual
orientation and gender identity

35. Workplace Bullying

36. According to a 2014 Workplace Bullying
Institute survey, 27% of Americans have
suffered serious bullying and abusive
conduct at work.

37. 2
1
The IssueS:
Workplace bullying may be particularly hard to
define because it covers a wide range of conduct
and behavior including physical threats, hostile
words or any actions intended to interfere with an
employee’s work
Bullying can lead to decreased employee
productivity and morale, workplace violence,
workers’ compensation claims and health care
costs, absenteeism and an array of potential
lawsuits

38. Addressing Domestic Violence

39. In the past year, domestic violence has
made major headlines in professional
sports and reminded employers that
domestic violence is a very real issue that
can negatively impact the workplace.

40. 2
1
The IssueS:
3
Failure to properly manage domestic violence
victims can lead to potential lawsuits under Title
VII and the ADA and similar state laws
An employer may face tort liability or liability
under OSHA for failing to provide a safe and
secure workplace free from hazards
Claims of discrimination may arise for denying
time off to the victim

41. Minimum Wage and Wage + Hour Laws

42. In 2014, over half of the states and a
handful of municipalities raised their
minimum wage.
In 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL)
will increase enforcement efforts and
will not hesitate to pursue employers
who violate wage and hour laws.

43. 2
1
The IssueS:
Violators of wage & hour laws could face fines,
penalties, increased risk to civil lawsuits and
potential criminal prosecution
February 2015—the DOL is set to release new
overtime rules in which it will revise the overtime
exemptions & increase the availability of overtime pay

44. Providing Workplace Protections for Interns + Volunteers

45. A growing movement among the
states to enforce laws that provide
workplace protections to interns and
volunteers have already been passed
in CA, IL, NY, OR + DC.

46. 2
1
The IssueS:
3
Under such laws, an employer is prohibited from
discriminating against and/or harassing interns
based on protected status
A discrimination and harassment free workplace
and basic civil rights should be afforded to all,
regardless of employment status
Interns & volunteers are granted the same
protections as employees

47. BANTHEBOX
Ban the Box

48. 2014 marked the year that the Ban the
Box trend really started to spread as
more states and cities have enacted or
proposed such legislation.

49. 2
1
The IssueS:
Ban the Box initially only applied to public
employers but is now starting to cover private
employment
The EEOC has supported Ban the Box measures
and encourages employers to conduct an
individualized assessment in light of criminal
background disclosure

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51. .
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@BethZoller1

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