NEW EEOC POSTING REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYERS EFFECTIVE

NOVEMBER 21, 2009

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised its “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster to address two new federal employment discrimination laws:

• The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA); and
• The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

Employers covered by federal Title VII and ADA anti-discrimination laws (typically 15 or more employees) will need to update their employee notice posters to reflect these new laws by November 21, 2009.

For private employers:

• The Disability section is revised as follows:

DISABILITY

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, protect qualified individuals from discrimination on the basis of disability in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment. Disability discrimination includes not making reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, barring undue hardship.

• The following section is added:

GENETICS

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 protects applicants and employees from discrimination based on genetic information in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment. GINA also restricts employers’ acquisition of genetic information and strictly limits disclosure of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about genetic tests of applicants, employees, or their family members; the manifestation of diseases or disorders in family members (family medical history); and requests for or receipt of genetic services by applicants, employees, or their family members.

The EEOC Poster Request Form is available on-line at EEOC, and provides several ways for employers to comply with the law:

1. Print the supplement below and post it alongside EEOC’s September 2002 “EEO is the Law” poster.

• “EEO is the Law”

1. Print and post the EEOC’s November 2009 version of the “EEO is the Law” poster.

1. Order a new poster through the EEOC Clearinghouse at the address provided at www.eeoc.gov The new poster will also be available in Spanish, Chinese and Arabic before the GINA statute becomes effective on November 21, 2009.

Again, the new posting is mandatory effective November 21, 2009.  In addition, employers can order the new 2010 California and federal labor law poster from the California Chamber of Commerce online.    The EEOC is in the process of revising its EEOC regulations and accompanying interpretive guidance in order to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and include the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) (http://archive.eeoc.gov/policy/regs/index.html).

If you have any questions on these or any other employment laws, please contact me or any of our other employment law attorneys.  Best, Bob Edwards