Legislative Update
By Jake Fulcher

Employers in 2010 may see many changes in the laws and regulations governing the employer-employee relationship. Listed below are a few proposals to watch from the federal and state level:

Federal
Paid Sick Leave Bill

The Obama Administration backed the Healthy Families Act in 2009, which would have guaranteed 7 paid sick days a year to workers in companies with 15 or more employees. Although the Act did not pass in 2009, experts expect proposal of a similar mandatory sick leave bill and many believe it will have greater support in 2010.

Employee Free Choice Act

In 2009, labor groups pushed Democrats to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, but the bill took a back seat to efforts to reform the country’s healthcare system. The act, which will more than likely take a front seat in 2010, proposes to alter the employee-employer relationship in 2 important ways:

1. It replaces secret ballot elections with signed authorization cards. Once union organizers collect signed cards from a majority of employees, the National Labor Relations Board must certify the union as the bargaining agent for the employees; and
2. It authorizes government-appointed arbitrators to prepare the collective bargaining agreements on newly organized employees and employers when opposing sides cannot agree. As a result, both sides are forced to accept the arbitrator’s contract. This is commonly referred to as “interest” arbitration.

State
Employer Credits for Rehiring Laid Off Workers

Proposed Indiana SB 0352 provides a tax credit for employers hiring an individual laid off from a place of employment in Indiana. If an employer rehires an employee it laid off, the bill provides a credit to the employer’s unemployment insurance account.
Unemployment Benefits after Military Service

Proposed House Bill 1228 authorizes a military service member to be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits for the first six weeks after discharge from the service without the usual requirements of registering for work and reporting for availability of work. The service member must, however, serve the standard 1 week waiting period before collecting unemployment benefits.

Employee Personal Leave

Proposed Indiana HB 1095 provides that an employee who has been employed for at least 6 months and worked an average of at least 80% of a full-time equivalent position is entitled to take 24 hours of paid leave and 16 hours of unpaid leave in any 12 month period. An employer may require employees to submit a written request for the leave at least 7 days prior to the leave, if the leave is foreseeable. Otherwise, the employee must give as much notice as practical. The leave may not be taken in increments of less than 4 hours for paid leave and 1 hour for unpaid leave. This bill would only apply to employers of 10 or more employees.

Construction Employees

Proposed House Bill 1120 provides that an individual performing services for a contractor or subcontractor on a construction project is considered to be an employee of the contractor or subcontractor, with certain exceptions. This bill allows the Department of Labor to assess various civil penalties against the employer for failing to properly classify individuals as employees, including prohibiting awarding contracts for certain public work projects for a period of 4 years after the improper classification.

False Statements to State Agencies

Indiana SB 0207 provides that an employee who knowingly or intentionally makes a false statement of independent contractor status to the Department of State Revenue commits a Class D felony. An employer or employee who classifies an employee as an independent contractor for the sole or primary purpose of avoiding the worker's compensation law commits a Class A infraction. A person who makes a false representation that an employee is an independent contractor for the purpose of avoiding the unemployment compensation law commits a Class C misdemeanor.

Wage Assignments

Proposed Indiana HB 1287 expands the limited purposes of wage assignments specifically listed in Indiana Code § 22-2-6-2 to include assignments for any purpose described in a written agreement between an employee and an employer.

Unemployment Insurance Tax Delay

Proposed Senate Bill 23 delays from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2011, changes in the taxable wage base and employer contribution rates for the unemployment compensation system.

Sales Tax Increment Finance

Proposed House Bill 1077 authorizes an economic development project in Warrick County and specifies that permitted uses of sales tax increment may be captured within the Warrick County district.

Occupational Disease and Asbestos Actions

Indiana proposed HB 1128 provides a statute of limitations for causes of action for occupational disease. It provides for a product liability action against persons who mined or sold commercial products containing or using asbestos. (Current law provides for a product liability action against persons who mined and sold commercial asbestos.) It provides for a 1 year period, ending July 1, 2011, to file an otherwise time-barred cause of action for: (1) occupational disease; (2) personal injury, disability, disease, or death resulting from exposure to asbestos; or (3) property damage resulting from asbestos.

Employee's Right to Work

Proposed House Bill 1011 makes it a Class A misdemeanor for an employer to require an individual to: (1) become or remain a member of a labor organization; (2) pay dues, fees, or other charges to a labor organization; or (3) pay to a charity or another third party an amount that represents dues, fees, or other charges required of members of a labor organization; as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.

Firearms in Locked Cars on Company Property

The Indiana House HB 1065 and Senate SB 0025 have passed their own versions of bills that prohibit employers in Indiana from adopting policies that ban employees from keeping firearms in locked cars on company property.

Background Checks: Employers Beware>