Management Update
Volume 3, Issue 10
October 2014
 
Yang Named New Chair of EEOC

President Obama named Vice Chair Jenny R. Yang as the new Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), making her the first Asian-American to hold this position. Yang is a civil rights and employment lawyer and has served as a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and Employment Litigation Section.
 
New OSHA Recordkeeping Rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made revisions to its recordkeeping rule to ensure accuracy of reports received on fatalities and serious work-related injuries. First, the list of industries exempt from routinely keeping up to date records will now be based on the North America Industry Classification System (NAICS). Second, OSHA has expanded the list of serious injuries that employers must report within 24 hours to include any work-related injury or illness which results in inpatient hospitalization, amputations, or the loss of an eye. Third, fatalities occurring within 30 days of an incident and hospitalizations, amputation and loss of an eye that occur within 24 hours of an incident must be reported.
 

Guidance Issued on HIPAA and Same-Sex Marriage


On September 17, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights  ("OCR") issued a guidance to help employees and employers understand the privacy implications of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, stating that federal law recognizing only opposite sex marriages was unconstitutional. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has extended Medicare to cover same-sex couples, and covered entities should treat persons in same-sex marriages in the same manner as persons in other marriages. Under HIPAA rules, "spouse" now includes same-sex and opposite-sex partners who are legally married. The term "marriage" extends to same-sex marriages, and "family member" includes dependents of both parties. This applies to all legal same-sex marriages regardless of whether they live in a jurisdiction that recognizes that marriage.
 

EEOC Investigating Discrimination in Job Personality Tests


The EEOC is investigating a lawyer's complaint, filed on behalf of his son who has bipolar disorder, of discrimination by well-known companies, including PetSmart and Kroger, against the mentally ill when issuing pre-employment personality tests as part of the hiring process.  An investigation is in process to determine whether the test questions are used to identify characteristics of, and ultimately discriminate based on, disabilities such as depression or bipolar disorder.
 
Management Update Briefings

Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. presents Management Update Briefings, a labor and employment law seminar at convenient locations across the state of Louisiana.




 
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. Labor & Employment Attorneys

john.andrishok@bswllp.com 

225.381.8020

Murphy J. Foster, III

murphy.foster@bswllp.com

225.381.8015

Leo C. Hamilton

leo.hamilton@bswllp.com

225.381.8056

Joseph R. Hugg

joseph.hugg@bswllp.com

504.584.5466

  

rachael.jeanfreau@bswllp.com

504.584.5467

steven.loeb@bswllp.com

225.381.8050

eve.masinter@bswllp.com

504.584.5468

Yvonne R. Olinde 

yvonne.olinde@bswllp.com

225.381.8026

E. Fredrick Preis, Jr.

fred.preis@bswllp.com

504.584.5470

jacob.roussel@bswllp.com

225.381.3172

melissa.shirley@bswllp.com

225.381.3173

Jennifer D. Sims

jennifer.sims@bswllp.com

225.381.8048

jerry.stovall@bswllp.com

225.381.8042

 

 
This electronic newsletter is provided to clients and friends of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. The information described is general in nature, and may not apply to your specific situation. Legal advice should be sought before taking action based on the information discussed. Applicable State Bar or Attorney Regulations May Require This Be Labeled as "Advertising."Anchor1