 |
General Description |
Employers Subject to the Law |
Employees Protected by the Law |
Penalties for Non-Compliance |
Governing/ Enforcing Agency |
| ADA Americans with Disabilities Act |
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Title I covers employment, including job application procedures, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, job training, and all other aspects of employment. |
As of July 26, 1994, all employers with 15 or more employees, for at least 20 work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. |
Those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, but who can perform the essential functions of the job. |
Compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination subject to certain limitations, as well as attorney and expert fees. |
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Employee may file suit in federal court if the EEOC does not. |
| ADEA Age Discrimination in Employment Act |
Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age. |
Employers engaged in industry affecting commerce with 20 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. |
All workers 40 years of age and older. |
Employers may be required to reinstate an employee and purge his or her employment record may also be liable for back pay, liquidated damages and legal fees. |
EEOC. Employee has up to three years in some cases to file suit after first filing claim with EEOC. |
| TITLE VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. |
Employers engaged in interstate commerce who have 15 or more employees for at least 20 weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. |
Employees in the protected classes. |
Compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination subject to certain limitations, as well as attorney and expert fees. |
EEOC. Employee may file suit in federal court if the EEOC does not. |
| Pregnancy Discrimination Act |
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. |
Employers engaged in interstate commerce who have 15 or more employees for at least 20 weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. |
Female employees and male employees if the discrimination affects receipt of fringe benefits by male employees' wives. |
Compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination subject to certain limitations, as well as attorney and expert fees. |
EEOC. Employee may file suit in federal court if the EEOC does not. |
| COBRA Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act |
Requires employers to give notice to and allow terminated employees and their dependents to elect, within a certain period of time, to continue health care coverage |
Applies to all employers offering group health plans except plans where an employer employed fewer than 20 employees on at least 50% of the working days, during the preceding calendar year, church plans and governmental plans. |
All employees who were covered under the employer's group health plan on the day before the qualifying event. |
Employer must pay excise tax of $100 a day per qualified beneficiary ($200 a day per family for the same qualifying event) to a maximum depending on the type of plans and the violation. Suits may result in monetary damages and an award of attorney fees. |
Department of Labor (DOL) |
| ERISA Employment Retirement Income Security Act |
Provides minimum consistent standards for employee benefits and retirement plans. Establishes reporting and disclosure requirements. |
All US employers with welfare benefit plans, except governmental and church plan, and plans maintained solely to comply with worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, or state disability laws. |
All employees eligible for the employer's welfare benefit plan or pension benefit plan. |
Penalties vary depending on which provisions of the Act are violated, but they include fines of up to $1,000 a day for failure to file Forms 5500 and 5500C, as well as criminal penalties for willful violations. |
DOL |
| FMLA Family MedicalLeave Act |
Requires employers to grant eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child or the serious illness of the employee or a family member. |
Employers who have 50 or more employees for at least 20 work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. |
Any employee who has worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months at a location where the employer had at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius. |
Employees may sue for lost wages and benefits caused by a violation of the Act; for damages due to increased cost of care, as well as for reinstatement of employment and promotions. Attorney fees may also be awarded. |
DOL |
| Rehabilitation Act |
Prohibits employment discrimination based on physical or mental handicaps. Requires affirmative action. |
Federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts over $10,000 and employers who receive direct federal funding. |
Employees with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. |
Withholding of progress payments to the contractor, cancellation of the contract, and debarment from future contracts. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) may also seek court enforcement. |
EEOC, OFCCP in cooperation with contracting agencies |
| HIPAA Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act |
Provides that a new employee or an employee who previously waived medical coverage due to prior coverage will have the right to transfer the prior carrier credit for pre-existing conditions. It also sets up Federal guidelines for pre-existing condition waiting periods. |
All plans effective on or after July 1, 1997. Also plans that renew on the plan anniversary after July 1, 1997 become HIPAA compliant on that date. |
All employees with Creditable Coverage from a prior carrier. Creditable Coverage will reduce or eliminate the Pre-existing condition clause waiting periods. |
Compliance and penalties are shared between the Employers and the Carrier. Penalties for non-compliance are up to $100 per day for each offense. |
DOL |
