Days after President Barack Obama released his own health care reform proposal, he presided over a health care reform summit on Thursday that both Democrats and Republicans attended. The summit was supposed to help the parties find common ground on the issue of health care reform and allow them to discuss their views. Although the summit identified some areas of agreement, it mostly highlighted the significant gap between the two parties’ views.

Audio Conference: Health Care Reform Is Here: Impact and Answers for Employers offered April 22, May 6 and May 20

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This morning, President Barack Obama released a health care reform proposal that “bridges the gap between the House and Senate bills.” The President released his proposal in advance of the upcoming televised health care summit on Thursday, February 25, and White House officials have noted that the proposal will serve as the starting point for the bipartisan summit.

Audio Conference: Health Care Reform Is Here: Impact and Answers for Employers offered April 22, May 6 and May 20

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed regulations that would define “reasonable factor other than age” under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

The need for these rules arises in the wake of the Smith v. City of Jackson decision, a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court addressed the appropriate standard for determining whether an employment practice that disproportionately affects older workers and would otherwise violate the ADEA is justified. In Smith, the Supreme Court stated that the “reasonable factors other than age” test, not the “business-necessity test,” was the appropriate standard. However, this decision raised questions about the definition of “reasonable factors other than age.” It is in response to those questions that the EEOC has proposed regulations.

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The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury recently published interim final regulations in the Federal Register that implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). These regulations are effective April 5, 2010, and apply to plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010.

The MHPAEA applies to most employers with more than 50 employees and requires those that offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits to make sure they’re in parity with the medical and surgical benefits they offer. The departments issued the regulations to further clarify the MHPAEA, and the regulations are supposed to update certain defined terms and examples and demonstrate how the expanded rules apply.

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published new rules for the H-2A Guest Worker Program that have sparked protest from agricultural employers.

The new rules, to go into effect March 15, were published in the February 12 edition of the Federal Register. The final rules govern the labor certification process and enforcement mechanisms for the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. The DOL said the rules are aimed at strengthening worker protections for both U.S. and foreign workers, but employers say the change means higher costs and a process so time-consuming they may not be able to hire enough labor to harvest their crops.

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On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Republicans (along with two Democrats) used a filibuster to block Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a 52-33 vote, the Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to end the Senate debate on Becker’s nomination and move to a final vote. Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas) were the only Democrats to join the Republican filibuster.

In a public statement earlier in the week, Nelson announced that he would oppose Becker’s nomination and noted, “Mr. Becker’s previous statements strongly indicate that he would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the Administration.”

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by Michael E. Barnsback

On Monday, February 8, the Virginia Senate passed a bill (SB 66) prohibiting discrimination in state employment that includes sexual orientation as a protected category. Although Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine issued executive orders prohibiting discrimination (including sexual orientation discrimination) in the state workforce, this is the first time that either the Virginia Senate or House has passed such a bill. It’s anticipated that the bill will fail in the Republican-controlled House.

Despite the bill’s predicted failure, the Senate’s action highlights the party-line debate over sexual orientation discrimination.

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The Obama administration proposed another extension of COBRA premium subsidy benefits on Monday, according to Business Insurance. President Barack Obama included this latest extension in his proposed federal budget for the fiscal year 2011. The proposed extension would reportedly extend the 65 percent premium subsidy to individuals whose employment is terminated between March 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010, and those individuals would be eligible for the subsidy for up to 12 months.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which President Obama signed into law last February, created the original federal COBRA subsidy. Under the ARRA, the federal government paid 65 percent of COBRA premiums for up to nine months for employees who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009.

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By Charles S. Plumb

Yesterday’s ruling by a federal court of appeals stops enforcement of key portions of Oklahoma’s sometimes controversial immigration law known as House Bill 1804. First, a brief history.

House Bill 1804 went into effect on November 1, 2007, and its business-related immigration provisions were immediately challenged in court. On June 4, 2008, an Oklahoma City federal court ruled the following aspects of the law couldn’t be enforced: read more…

Today, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis hosted her third live Web chat during her tenure with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). During the session, Solis answered questions on the department’s proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year. She touched briefly on the agency’s plans with the requested $116.5 billion, a decrease from last year’s $193.6 billion. This decrease can be largely attributed to a decline in unemployment insurance benefit payments.

Solis noted that the DOL’s priorities for the coming year would focus on protecting workers’ rights, expanding the agency’s role in enforcing those rights, ensuring that workers are aware of and have equal access to DOL programs, and maintaining department transparency with the public. The DOL hopes to return worker protection agencies to staffing levels that were present in 2001. For that purpose, $1.7 billion — a $69 million increase — will be allocated to these programs, allowing for an additional 177 inspectors, investigators, and other staff to be hired.

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