Key Legislation Flashcards
ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)
2008-
Amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act covering the definition of individuals regarded as having a disability, mitigating measures, and other rules of construction to guide the analysis of what constitutes a disability.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
1967-
Prohibits discrimination in employment for persons age 40 and over.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability because of his/her disability
Civil Rights Act of 1964
First comprehensive US law making it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Civil Rights Act of 1991
Expands the possible damage awards available to victims of intentional discrimination to include compensatory and punitive damages; gives plaintiffs in cases of alleged discrimination the right to a jury trial.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
1985-
Provides individuals and dependents who may lose medical coverage with opportunity to pay to continue coverage.
Drug-Free Workplace Act
Requires federal contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more as well as recipients of grants from federal government to certify they are maintaining a drug-free workplace.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
1988 -
Generally prevents employers engaged in or affecting interstate commerce from using polygraph tests either for preemployment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exemptions.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
1947-
Established uniform minimum standards for employer-sponsored retirement and health and welfare benefit programs.
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
1972-
Amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gave the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authority to “back up” its administrative findings and conduct its own enforcement litigation.
Equal Pay Act
1963 -
Prohibits unequal pay for equal or “substantially equal” work.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act)
2003 -
Provides some relief to employers using third parties to conduct workplace investigations.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
1970-
Protects privacy of background information and ensures that information supplied is accurate.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
1938-
Regulates employee status, overtime pay, child labor, minimum wage, record keeping, and other administrative concerns.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
1993-
Provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or because of a serious health condition of the employee.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
2008-
Prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health insurance.
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
1986-
Prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship; establishes penalties for hiring illegal aliens and requires employers to establish each employee’s identity and eligibility to work.
Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA; Taft-Hartley Act)
1947-
Provides balance of power between union and management by designating certain union activities as unfair labor practices.
Labor-Management Reporting Disclosure Act (LMRDA)
1959-
Protects the rights of union members from corrupt or discriminatory labor unions; also known as Landrum-Griffin Act.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
2009-
Creates a rolling time frame for filing wage discrimination claims and expands plaintiff field beyond employee who was discriminated against.
National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA)
2008 & 2010-
Expanded leave under Family and Medical Leave Act for employees with family members who are covered members of the military.
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA; Wagner Act)
1935-
Protects the rights of employees to organize unhampered by management.
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act
1970-
Established the first national policy for safety and health and continues to deliver standards that employers must meet to guarantee the health and safety of their employees.
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
1990-
Amended Age Discrimination in Employment Act to include all employee benefits; also provided terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
2010-
Requires virtually all citizens and legal residents of the U.S. to have minimum health coverage and requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage that meets minimum benefit specifications or pay a penalty.
Portal-to-Portal Act
1947-
Defines what is included as hours worked and is therefore compensable and a factor in calculating overtime.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
1978-
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
2002-
Requires publicly held companies to establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting to reduce possibility of corporate fraud.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
1994-
Protects the employment, reemployment, and retention rights of persons who serve or have served in the uniformed services.
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
1988-
Requires some employers to give a minimum of 60 days’ notice if a plant is to close or if mass layoffs will occur.
