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LEGAL UPDATE
SEN. BAUCUS UNVEILS HEALTH CARE REFORM PROPOSAL
Last week, Senator Max Baucus of Montana disclosed what some believe will be the health care reform proposal that will most closely resemble the one finally enacted into law, assuming any of them are.
NAPS has been watching closely to see whether and to what extent the health care reform proposals will impact our members, by requiring those of you who do not provide a certain threshold level of medical insurance to your employees will be required to make a "contribution" to the government.
The news from Sen. Baucus is good for virtually all of you who deal solely with direct hire. Employers who do not have 50 or more employees will not have to pay any contribution, even if they do not provide medical insurance benefits to their employees.
Many firms engaged in temporary staffing will be covered, because they will have 50 or more employees working 30 or more hours per week. If these firms do not provide a certain level of insurance to their employees, they will have to make an annual contribution of the lesser of an amount determined by the Department of Health and Human Services times the number of their employees who receive a tax credit for purchasing insurance themselves, or $400 times all employees.
Because of the way in which many temporary workers come and go, or change hours and assignments, there are many unanswered questions about how the proposal will apply to staffing firms. Also, initial reaction to the proposal was criticism from both liberals and conservatives. That may indicate the proposal is a satisfactory compromise. It may also indicate that changes will be made, and other proposals will be considered. Other proposals may cover more employers and provide for a higher "contribution" level.
We will keep you advised.
EEOC FILES SUIT FOR MUSLIM DENIED POSITION DUE TO HEAD SCARF
Those of you who have attended any of the recent NAPS Certification Immersion Classes will remember that we have been predicting that the next "big issue" in employment discrimination will be discrimination against Muslims because of the wearing of a scarf, or the need to take prayer breaks.
On Friday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against Abercrombie & Fitch, alleging that a woman applied for a position there, and was told that the head scarf violates the store's "look policy." The suit seeks back pay, damages resulting from "pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation and inconvenience." The EEOC is also seeking a permanent injunction restraining the company from participating in discriminatory employment practices.
Just a few months ago, the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a policy of the Philadelphia Police Department prohibiting the scarves on police officers, on the theory that the Department had the right to decide that wearing the scarves could give citizens the impression that certain religions were preferred. (While this involves racial, not religious discrimination, the same police department, just this week, assigned a white male officer to desk duty because he wears his hair in corn rows. Stay tuned for the litigation.)
You should be careful to show that any limitation you or your clients place upon employees' observance of their religious practices is based upon business necessity, and not just the idea that the same rules must apply to everyone.
HAVE YOU RUN INTO "UNITED WE WORK?"
United We Work is, according to its web site, an organization of companies who are banding together for the purpose of reducing the costs of recruitment. The idea is that each employer member would ask any candidate it doesn't hire, if the candidate wanted to be placed in the United We Work database. The data base would be available for each corporate member to use without any fees, at least for the time being.
Recruiters may not join, because "this program is designed to eliminate fees from recruitment to allow more people to get hired in this economy."
The organization's web site list its "principal sponsors" as Seven Eleven, ADP, Allstate, AT&T, Hewitt, Hyatt, Office Depot, Sears Holdings and Starbucks. The organizers claim that many other prominent companies have joined - Bayer, Best Buy, Oracle, Staples and Wachovia, to name a few.
While NAPS has not heard from any of its members that this organization is having any impact on their businesses, we would like to hear from you if you have run into them.
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