Employment Law Changes May Impact Your Benefits Plans

Employment Law Changes May Impact Your Benefit Plans

Changes in Employment law both on the Federal side and the State level may have an impact on your current HR policies. Since the laws are relatively new there has not been many court cases both on the federal and state level so our employment lawyers do not have many court rulings to make a decision by. Here are two examples one for Federal law and one for the state of Nevada (which is where I currently live) that will have impact.

ADAAA (ADA Amendment Act)
The EEOC is currently looking to revise that portion of its current regulation that defines the term “substantially limits” as “significantly restricted” to be consistent with this act including all amendments made by this Act. The EEOC is taking a position that certain conditions constitute a Disability (i.e. Cancer, Epilepsy, MS & Diabetes). Medications, medical supplies, equipment or appliances, low vision devices (except for glasses and Contacts), prosthetics and mobility devices may not consider as mitigating measures. The agency states that individuals should be analyzed without regard to “surgical interventions; this will cause concern for all our businesses for something as simple as routine stitches may qualify consequently creating a record of disability for an employee. One positive note, the EEOC still takes the position that a condition must last several months to be sufficiently classified as long term. Businesses trying to comply with the new Amendment will be asking themselves should they just assume that an employee is disabled? The current answer is “maybe”, if the accommodations are not too burdensome the companies may decide to make them, however if it is a burdensome effort, companies may decide not too.
A new law that just went into effect August 15, 2009 entitled the Nevada Parental Leave Law, allows employees of companies with 50 or more employees to take up to 4 hours of unpaid leave to attend school function for their child. If an employee has more than one child the law states this benefit is per child. It applies for parents who children are in public or private school. The law covers the following:
• School related activities during regular school hours
• Parent – Teacher conferences
• Volunteer or be involved at the school
• School sponsored event
The unpaid leave must be taken in increments of at least one hour. The law prohibits termination, demotion, suspension or discrimination. Violation by a business will be considered a misdemeanor. Employees can file claim with the Nevada Labor Commission- school must provide the form. Employee may recover lost wages and benefits and reinstatement.
Finally like our legal department it is becoming more and more apparent that we as HR professionals must also stay on top of the changes in Employment Law for the impact that it has on our businesses.

Is a Resume Enough

Though the economy maybe close to “bottoming out” the forecast for employment remains bleak for the rest of this year and at a minimum thru the first quarter of 2010. Many career counselors and coaches are telling us that a top notch resume alone will get “notice” and potentially that interview that may put you back into the job market. I on the other hand, do not believe that the resume alone is enough!
I am not saying that the Resume is not a critical tool in your employment toolbox, it just cannot be the only tool you have. The resume should still be meticulous, without typos, spelling mistakes, or poorly written. It should still be concise and detailed, focusing on the impact of key accomplishments from the different positions listed but it should also be specific to the position posted. I just take issue with the philosophy that this should be your only tool, and my reason is at least 5 out of the 10 applicants who apply will also have a meticulous, specific, focused resume with a skill set just like yours.
In the book “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters” by Jay Conrad Levinson & David E. Perry the authors point out that you must have a strong web presence including your personal website, your Blog, and that you must drive traffic to your expertise website using Social Networks including LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. Why tools like this you ask, because it allows Recruiters as well as executive level decision makers see you an industry thought leader and get to know YOU beyond what you have done for employers in the past.
Websites such as www.Visual CV.com allows you to describe who you, post your resume, videos, employer and employee recommendations and show examples of projects or case studies of select achievements in more detail than a resume will allow. Your Blog is a great place to establish yourself as a thought leader and allow you to express your opinions on business and industry issues as a Subject Matter Expert. It also tells employers that you are doing research and keeping abreast of current business trends. Though most users are using the communication tools of Facebook and Twitter as primarily for Social communication, these tools along with LinkedIn are very valuable business tools for you to use to send perspective Recruiters and employers to your Visual CV, your Blog and your resume. They are also great networking tools to find former friends and colleagues that maybe able to help you in your job search as well as it allows employers to also find you. Lori Beth Dalton, Career Coach (www.loribethdalton.com) says that the Resume tells your history of what you have accomplished at the prior companies you have worked for, tools like Visual CV & Blogs allows you to tell perspective Employers what you maybe able to do for them. In today Employer’s market you really do want more than just a resume in your employment toolbox.