The Employment Law Chronicle

Here are some web links of use to Virginia employment lawyers and employers:

Virginia Department of Labor & Industry (DOLI). The DOLI provides information about labor laws that affect Virginia employers, including the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and Virginia laws relating to Wage Payment, Child Labor, Minimum Wage, and Right-to-Work.

Virginia Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation provides tax forms, information about employer withholding and other business taxes, and on-line services relating to business registration, tax filing, and tax payments.

Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). In addition to providing employment assistance to job seekers and allowing employers to post jobs on-line, the VEC provides labor-market information and administers programs relating to unemployment insurance and compensation, including publication of an employer's handbook to the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act (check the VEC's website for updates to this 2007 version).

Virginia New Hire Reporting Center. As indicated on this site, "Federal and State law requires employers to report newly hired and re-hired employees in Virginia to the Virginia New Hire Reporting Center. This site will provide you with information about reporting new hires including reporting online and other reporting options."

Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). Among other services provided by the SCC, of particular note to new employers is a Business Registration Guide, which provides step-by-step guidance for employers to comply with registration, filing, and tax laws.

Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission (VWCC). The VWCC administers the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. Its website provides information, including an informational guide that explains your obligations as an employer under the Workers' Compensation Act.

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Employment Law Links

Bookmark:

Federal contractors in Virginia, the District of Columbia and nationwide should check out the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (OFCCP) new website, which aims to make it easier for employers to find and use information relating to compliance with OFCCP regulations. As readers of this blog know, OFCCP has responsibility for various programs relating to anti-discrimination and affirmative action obligations of federal contractors.

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Federal Contractors , Government Agencies

Bookmark:

As part of The Employment Law Chronicle's ongoing effort to chronicle workplace laws affecting employers in Virginia and the District of Columbia, please take note that Virginia Code Section 40.1-11.1, entitled "Employment of illegal immigrants," sanctions referral or employment of individuals who cannot document their eligibility to work in the United States, providing in part:

It shall be unlawful and constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor for any employer or any person acting as an agent for an employer, or any person who, for a fee, refers an alien who cannot provide documents indicating that he or she is legally eligible for employment in the United States for employment to an employer, or an officer, agent or representative of a labor organization to knowingly employ, continue to employ, or refer for employment any alien who cannot provide documents indicating that he or she is legally eligible for employment in the United States.

While the law does not require an employer to use an employment application, an employer who chooses to use an employment application must ask prospective employees if they are legally eligible to work in the United States.

To view the complete text of this statute, follow links to the Code of Virginia at this site.

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Immigration , Virginia Laws

Bookmark:

In a key ruling for employers who need to protect the confidentiality of information submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in connection with charges filed by employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed and remanded this case, instructing the district court to issue an injunction prohibiting the EEOC from disclosing an employer's confidential information to plaintiffs or other third parties without notifying the employer in advance of the disclosure.

At issue were two "irreconcilable" EEOC policies. The EEOC's Compliance Manual allowed the EEOC to disclose confidential information to plaintiffs or other third parties without notifying the submitter in advance of the disclosure. By contrast, the EEOC's regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) prohibited the EEOC from disclosing confidential information to third parties without notifying the submitter before the disclosure.

The Court held as follows:

[W]e remand this case to the district court to enjoin the Commission from disclosing Venetian’s confidential information without adhering to the notice and other requirements of the agency’s regulations implementing the FOIA. The EEOC's policy of permitting disclosure of confidential information without notifying the submitter is "arbitrary and capricious" in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) because the discloser without notification policy is inconsistent with the EEOC's own policies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which require notification to a submitter before any confidential or other information is disclosed. If and when the EEOC provides an adequate justification for the conflict between its policies, the injunction may be dissolved.

The practical upshot is that unless the EEOC provides a coherent rationale reconciling its inconsistent pre-disclosure notification policies, the EEOC must notify the employer in this case before disclosing the employer's confidential information. Going forward, in cases where the EEOC cannot provide a coherent rationale to deviate from the pre-disclosure notification requirements in its FOIA regulations, this decision provides support for the argument that an employer (or other submitter of confidential information to the EEOC) must be notified before the EEOC releases such information to a plaintiff or other third party.

From the perspective of this writer, who represents employers before the EEOC and has handled FOIA matters involving various federal agencies, this outcome seems fair and balanced.

Posted by Lori J. Searcy | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: District of Columbia Cases , EEOC Procedures , Government Agencies

Bookmark: