Tip of the Day: Mandating health risk assessments is an ADA no-no

Some employers have taken the bold step in recent years to mandate employees to participate in health risk assessments to obtain group health insurance. However, a new informal letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that such a requirement is one bold step forward but two legal steps back, writing that the mandate is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In part, the letter reads: "Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has not taken a formal position on this issue, this office believes the policy you described would violate provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act that require disability-related questions or medical examinations of employees to be job-related and consistent with business necessity."

I understand the EEOC's position, but in this economy, if every dollar in health savings isn't "business necessity," I don't know what is. What do you think, pros? Comment and let me know.

Click here to read the full text of the EEOC's letter.

News You can Use: Obama signs fair pay law

President Barack Obama this morning signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which, according to the Associated Press, clarifies that the 180-day statute of limitations is extended every time an employer violates the law by issuing a paycheck or engages in other practices that discriminate.

Therefore, AP reports, if an employee alleges that she received a salary 20 years ago that was less than that of male co-workers because of discrimination, each new paycheck since that occurrence would be a new unlawful employment practice that resets the statute of limitations. The bill retains current limits on employer liability by restricting back pay awards to two years.

The law carries Ledbetter's name because she's been a staunch fair pay advocate ever since filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when she found out she was earning less than male coworkers. A Supreme Court ruling in 2007 threw out Ledbetter's complaint, saying she was required to bring suit within 180 days of the initial act of discrimination.

Read more about the law and its implications for you here, and comment below to let us know your thoughts about the law's approval.

News You Can Use: Pregnancy discrimination persists

It's difficult enough being pregnant. Employers absolutely must stop making matters worse by discriminating against moms-to-be.

Thirty years after the enactment of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which outlaws employment bias due to pregnancy and/or childbirth, a study from the National Partnership for Women and Families finds that, according to EEOC data, pregnancy discrimination charges increased 65% from 1992 to 2007. Among minorities, such charges rose 76% in the same period.

Even worse, “The increase in complaints about pregnancy discrimination far outpaced the increase in women in the workforce during this time period,” said National Partnership General Counsel Jocelyn Frye, who authored the report. “Because many women who face pregnancy discrimination are reluctant to file charges with the EEOC, the problem may be even more widespread than these figures suggest.”

Tip of the Day

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released a new guide for employers on applying Title 1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In other ADA news, the Senate recently passed amendments to the law, designed to counter Supreme Court decisions that ruled that people with certain ailments were not ADA protected because their conditions could be aided with medication use of a prosthesis.

News You Can't Use: Former EEOC Vice Chair heads to Proskauer Rose

Congratulations to Leslie Silverman, former EEOC vice chair, as she joins one of the nation's leading employment law firms as a partner. Silverman led EEOC's Systemic Task Force, which helped combat discrimination and specifically helped discrimination against workers with caregiving responsiblities.

She has a J.D. from American University and a Masters degree in labor and employment law from Georgetown University Law Center.