Late Thursday night, President Obama signed a measure that extends the COBRA premium subsidy for another two months — to May 31, 2010. The subsidy had expired on March 31, 2010 when Congress failed to act on this measure before its recess. However, yesterday, Congress approved a bill that covers all those who have been… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: congress
House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and..What’s This? Restrictions on Arbitration Clauses??
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsUPDATED The health care bill debate seems all consuming. At least in terms of press coverage. But yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a defense spending bill (H.R. 3326) that, according to the DC Employment Law Update: "prevents most defense contractors and subcontractors from forcing their employees or independent contractors to sign, as a condition of… Continue Reading
Congress Reviewing Employee Arbitration Provisions; Bill Would Ban Certain Provisions
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsEarlier this year, the Supreme Court revisited the subject of arbitration provisions in the employment context, creating some concern among legislators about the implications of this decision. In this week’s Connecticut Law Tribune, my colleague Cara Ceraso has drafted a nifty article about legislation now pending in Congress that would allow employees to bring their… Continue Reading
Funds for Labor History Association & Other Education Programs Approved in Appropriations Bill
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceLearning about our nation’s employment laws and labor history, and creating more educational opportunities are certainly worthwhile endeavors. Indeed, in this time of economic turmoil, investing in vocational and education programs may be viewed as a down payment on getting more people into a taxpaying role. To that end the Omnibus Appropriations Bill passed by Congress in… Continue Reading
So What’s REALLY in the Economic Stimulus Bill Related to Labor & Employment Law?
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsWhile much of the press reports about the U.S. House of Representative’s passage of the Economic Stimulus bill center on the size of it, there’s a lot of details that haven’t yet been explored. Because the bill’s prospects are looking (somewhat) favorable, it’s time to look at some of the specifics that relate to employment… Continue Reading
EFCA Not Likely to Pass Anytime Soon, WSJ Reports
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Wall St. Journal is reporting this morning that the Employee Free Choice Act bill is not likely to be among the pieces of legislation to be considered in the new administration’s first 100 days: Unions likely won’t see action soon on legislation that would make it easier to organize workers, but Democrats are moving… Continue Reading
Election Guide on Employment Law-Related Issues – Part I
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsWith the election just two weeks away, employers can start to draw a sharper focus on the national issues at stake in the upcoming Presidential election. That said, much of what will happen will also depend on what happens with various Congressional races. In other words, even if Senator McCain is elected President, we’re still… Continue Reading
BREAKING NEWS: House Passes ADA Amendments Act; Bill Goes To President for Signature
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThis afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives approved by voice vote, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (S.3406), with the amendments made by the U.S. Senate last week. I’ve recapped the details before in prior posts. Reuters has the details of today’s House action in. Numerous groups and politicians released press releases this afternoon praising the… Continue Reading
“Lipstick on a Pig”? Congress and Courts Have Used The Term Before Relating to Employment Discrimination
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe McCain campaign last night was trying to make much of a comment that Sen. Obama made on the campaign trail on Tuesday about the concept of Sen. McCain bringing about change. "You know, you can put lipstick on a pig," Obama said, "but it’s still a pig." In fact, Sen. McCain made similar comments… Continue Reading
Amendments to ADA Now Likely This Year; Bill Passes House and Goes On to U.S. Senate
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Legislative DevelopmentsNearly eight months ago, I asked the question: Will the Americans with Disabilities Act Be Amended? At that point, I indicated that an ADA Restoration Act Bill of 2007 was not yet a "hot topic" but as election season heated up, we could see some action on some proposed amendments. There have been some followup posts both in… Continue Reading
Breaking News: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Passes House; Presidential Approval Expected Shortly
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe U.S. House of Representatives, as expected, passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act this afternoon. The bill, which had already been approved by the Senate, now moves on to the White House, where the President is expected to sign the bill. The bill’s summary and status can be found here.The roll call vote at 12:40… Continue Reading
Federal Legislative Update: Senate Passes Genetic Non-Discrimination (GINA) Bill; Expected to Have Minor Impact in Connecticut
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Legislative DevelopmentsLast week, while I was out on vacation, Congress acted on a bill that may have some interest in Connecticut. However, because Connecticut already has a similar bill already on the books, it will probably have a minor impact on employers. The U.S. Senate approved of legislation that would prohibit genetic discrimination in the workplace. As reported… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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