From time to time, Trust the Leaders will bring you highlights of relevant events in the world of employment law, including topics of interest from the EEOC. In this issue, we focus on our clients and friends of the firm who have employees in Florida and New York.

Florida Provides New Leave Benefit for Victims of Domestic Violence

This past summer, Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed into law legislation that requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide leave to employees who are dealing with domestic violence issues. The law, effective July 1, 2007, provides employees with up to three days leave within a 12-month period if the employee or a family or household member is the victim of domestic violence and the leave is sought to seek legal or medical assistance in relation thereto.
Employees who have worked at least three months with the employer are eligible to seek leave under this new law. While the law requires eligible employees to use all annual, vacation, personal or sick leave first, employers have the explicit discretion to waive that requirement. Employers also have the discretion to determine whether the leave will be paid.

Employers who fail to provide requested leave, or who take retaliatory action against an employee who exercises the right to leave, may be subject to civil claims, including monetary and equitable relief. While Florida’s law is newly enacted, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island each has laws currently on the books to protect domestic violence victims’ need for time off from work. Ten other states have similar legislation pending.

New York State Enacts Law Protecting Social Security Numbers

In an effort to curb the increasing risk of identify theft, the New York legislature has enacted a new law prohibiting employers from using social security numbers — in whole or in part — as a portion of an employee’s identification number. Employers cannot, for example, print a worker’s social security number on any card or tag for purposes of accessing products, services, or benefits offered by the employer (e.g., identification cards for health care benefits) or print a social security number on materials mailed from the employer to the employee unless otherwise required by state or federal law. This law also prohibits employers from requiring individuals to transmit their social security numbers over the Internet, unless the number is encrypted or there is a secure connection. Presumably, this prohibition impacts employers who utilize a web application process or who conduct background checks via an Internet service. The “New York Social Security Number Protection Law” goes into effect on January 1, 2008 and covers all private employers.

Employers who fail to meet the proscriptions of this act are subject to monetary fines.

In 2007, 41 other states introduced proposed legislation relating to the protection of social security numbers.

EEOC Announces Position on Protection for Caregivers

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued an Enforcement Guidance Report regarding the unlawful treatment of workers who have caregiver responsibilities in the home. Traditionally, caregiver responsibilities referred to the care of children and had the greatest impact on female workers. However, employers should be aware that Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protect workers from discrimination that can arise from caregiver responsibilities, including disparate treatment of men who care for children; disparate treatment of workers who care for an individual with a disability (such as a child or parent); disparate treatment of older workers who care for aging parents; and harassment that creates a hostile work environment for workers with caregiver responsibilities. With an aging work force and an increase in the number of workers that are taking on caregiver responsibilities, we can expect to see more claims alleging caregiver discrimination. Equally as important, the EEOC Enforcement Guidance Report demonstrates that this is an area to which the EEOC will be paying particular attention in the future. As such, employers need to carefully consider employees’ requests for leaves of absence or other accommodations that employees may require because of caregiver responsibilities.