CUPA-HR eNews

Public Policy News You Can Use – January 14
January 14, 2009

House Passes Ledbetter Bill and Paycheck Fairness Legislation
On Friday, January 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12). The bills, both of which deal with pay discrimination, passed the House last Congress but stalled in the Senate. In November, however, Democrats expanded their majority in the Senate, thus increasing the likelihood the bills will pass that body this year. President-elect Obama supported both bills last Congress and is expected to sign them if they reach his desk.

The Ledbetter bill, which is purportedly designed to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., would virtually eliminate the statute of limitations for most claims under federal antidiscrimination law. The Paycheck Fairness bill, the more alarming bill for employers, would allow for unlimited compensatory and punitive damages under the Equal Pay Act, permit class action lawsuits to be filed where claimants must opt out of the lawsuit, rather than opting in, and make it harder for employers to defend legitimate practices that could have caused pay disparity.

The House passed Ledbetter by 247-171 and Paycheck Fairness by 256-163. The House packaged both bills together as H.R. 11 upon passage and sent them to the Senate for consideration as one piece of legislation. The Senate majority leader reportedly plans to move forward in the next week with consideration of a Senate stand-alone version of the Ledbetter bill. It is unclear at this point when the Senate will address a Paycheck Fairness bill. 

CUPA-HR is concerned about both pieces of legislation and, along with other employer groups, has offered to work with lawmakers to devise alternative solutions that address the underlying concerns prompting the bills but better guard against frivolous claims and preserve important and legitimate HR practices.

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing for New Secretary of Labor
On Friday, January 9, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a confirmation hearing for President-elect Obama’s Labor Secretary-designate Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA). 

Rep. Solis had served in the House of Representatives for four terms representing the Los Angeles area. Prior to serving in Congress she served in the California State Senate, State Assembly and in the Carter Administration’s Office of Hispanic Affairs. She has a strong background of supporting organized labor, and unions are enthusiastically backing her confirmation. She was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in the last congress, a bill that would make it easier for unions to organize, and sits on the board of a pro-union advocacy group that is promoting EFCA. 

During her confirmation hearing, Rep. Solis laid out four priorities for the Labor Department under the new administration: job training, workplace safety, retirement security and discrimination enforcement.

New Requirements Now Effective for ADA and FMLA
January 2009 brings significant compliance changes for employers. As of January 1, employers need to comply with the requirements of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), signed into law in September 2008. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rejected a set of proposed rules for the ADAAA at the last contentious Commission meeting in December, so interpretive guidance is not yet available. CUPA-HR will notify members when the EEOC issues a proposed rule or other guidance. 

In addition, the new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) final regulations will go into effect on January 16. The Department of Labor has posted updated information on its Web site on the changes to the FMLA, including new posters and forms to help employers comply.

President Signs Pension Funding Bill Into Law
On December 23, the President signed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. The bill provides temporary funding relief to nonprofit organizations, businesses and private universities that sponsor defined benefit plans. Both the House and Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent the week of December 8. Specifically, the new law provides smoothing of asset values to take into account pre-market decline values and transition relief clarifying the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to remove the 100 percent funding requirement for 2009. In addition, the bill will temporarily delay benefit restrictions to change the limitation on benefit accruals. 

IRS Changes Mileage Reimbursement Rates for 2009
Beginning January 1, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decreased the optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business to 55 cents a mile. The business mileage rate was 50.5 cents in the first half of 2008 and jumped to 58.5 cents for the second half of the year after gasoline prices spiked. Now that gasoline prices have readjusted at a lower price, the IRS changed the rate to more accurately reflect a traditional increase from one year to the next as transportation costs gradually increase.