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New Rules for Disabilities Under the ADAAA Compliance Guidelines
As you may recall, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from discriminating in employment based on an applicant's or employee's disability(ies) and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees or job applicants with disabilities. Effective May 24, 2011, the EEOC's final rules for the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which were initially released September 2009, will come into play. These aim to protect more people and shift employers' focus to creating an interactive process for developing reasonable accommodations.
Because more individuals will be covered, it is crucial that managers be able to recognize when an employee or otherwise qualified job applicant may have a protected disability. There are three main ways in which the new rules expand coverage.
First, the amendment broadens the interpretation of a disability (anything that substantially limits one or more major life activities) by providing examples, including "caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working." Therefore, an asthmatic, for example, could be covered on the basis of limited breathing (possibly requiring a mask to work in some environments as a reasonable accommodation).
Second, under a 1999 Supreme Court ruling, an impairment was not a protected disability if it could be corrected with mitigating measures, such as insulin for a diabetic; however, the new amendment has overturned this ruling, with the single exception of glasses or contacts. Therefore, an employee who requires the use of a hearing aid is considered disabled under the ADAAA, but an employee who wears corrective lenses is not.
Third, if an employee is regarded as having a disability, they are covered against discrimination based upon this perceived disability through the ADA. This includes any perceived disability unless it is both minor and transitory (lasting less than six months). A broken leg or sprained wrist would both examples of minor and transitory impairments. Furthermore, the perceived disability need not be one that substantially limits life activities. Therefore, if someone is regarded as disabled, they are protected. For example, a person with strange marks could have a viable claim if they were passed up for a promotional opportunity because their employer regarded them as disabled, even if the marks don't limit the employee's life activities at all. The law notes that employers are not required to accommodate non-existent, perceived disabilities.
The combination of these changes will force employers to more readily classify employees as disabled, and thus, shift the focus from classification to accommodation and non-discrimination. For more information on ADAAA regulations and qualifying disabilities, click here. Because so many more people will be covered under the new rules, it is important to be prepared and expect to make reasonable accommodations.
This process starts with the way that job descriptions and job postings are written. Frequently job requirements will include "ability to lift 50 pounds" without ever justifying that amount. Now, that requirement should be followed up with its reason for being (e.g. "to move furniture" or "to load steel onto a production line"). Also to this end, it is recommended that job descriptions include the function or purpose rather than tasks. For example, instead of listing in a job description that a receptionist will pick up trash in the lobby, wipe down windows in the entry, and keep an organized workspace, it would now say that the receptionist will maintain a professional and inviting atmosphere. In this way, persons of varying abilities working as the receptionist may be able to achieve the same results through different means, and this lends itself more towards accommodation.
If an applicant or employee has a disability requiring accommodation, they should indicate it on the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO page) of RMI's employment application or online orientation. As soon as the possibility of a disability is recognized, your HR Representative will engage the supervisor, the applicant or employee, and, if necessary, his or her medical provider to determine what reasonable accommodations may be made. This process will aid in ensuring consistency, confidentiality, and compliance, and it will allow managers to focus on their core business. Furthermore, by involving the applicant or employee in open communication, it is less likely that he or she will feel subjected to illegal discrimination even if no accommodation can be made. A reasonable accommodation could include a schedule change or a closer parking spot, but allowing an employee to simply not come to work (other than for a doctor's appointment) would not be a reasonable accommodation.
If you have questions or concerns about the ADAAA, please contact your RMI HR Representative. He or she can help you write job descriptions or job postings, identify disabilities, determine and establish reasonable accommodations, and offer compliance guidance. |
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| Annual Open Enrollment for Washington Employees |
Resource Management, Inc. is currently holding its annual open enrollment for all employees living in the State of Washington whose employer participates in one of RMI's group plans offered through GroupHealth or Dental Select.
Open enrollment is the time for employees to change their plans, enroll dependents, or sign up for coverage if they are not currently participating. Open enrollment will begin May 1, 2011 and continue through June 17, 2011. After this date, no changes or new enrollments will be accepted. All changes made during open enrollment will become effective July 1, 2011. Please keep in mind that RMI collects all benefit premiums one month in advance. Employees planning to add additional coverage or change plans that will result in a premium increase will need to submit their enrollment forms to RMI prior to their first June payroll.
You may have noticed that open enrollment is a month later this year. We have been fortunate enough to postpone the renewal by one month, moving it from June to July. This will result in an extra month of lower premiums for both our employees and clients. It also means, however, that any new enrollments and plan changes will not take effect until July 1st. Please keep in mind that this one-month postponement is only for the 2011 renewal. We will revert back to a June 1st effective date for the 2012 renewal.
The only changes to the medical plan benefits this year are the result of mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. These changes are as follows:
- Preventative care visits within the GroupHealth network will be paid at 100%. This means there is no longer a need to make the applicable co-pay when receiving services for preventative care at a GroupHealth facility. Please be aware, however, that preventative services done outside of the GroupHealth network will still require a co-pay, but employees will not have to pay the deductible or coinsurance if their visits exceed the 4-visit limit.
- There will no longer be a pre-existing condition clause imposed on any member who is under age 19. The pre-existing condition clause on adults will not be waived until 2014.
- The life-time limit of $2,000,000 on all essential benefits has been removed. This means that anyone with claims that exceed $2,000,000 can no longer be excluded from the Plan.
- Dependents will be able to remain on their parents' plan until the age of 26, without having to provide proof of financial or other dependent status. Employees who have dropped a dependent from their coverage because he or she was no longer financially dependent upon them can re-enroll that dependent this year for a July 1st effective date. Even married dependents can still qualify for coverage under their parents' plan as long as they are under the age of 26.
Employees should watch for their open enrollment letter to be delivered by mail to their home address in May. This letter will provide all the details regarding open enrollment. For more information about this year's Washington open enrollment, please contact the Benefits Department at (888) 764-0200. All enrollment forms, change forms, and plan highlight sheets can be found on our website at www.rminc.com. |
| How To Calculate Overtime for Workers Paid On A Piece-Rate Basis |
Workers paid on a piece-rate basis are not automatically exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime requirements.
When a non-exempt piece-rate employee works more than 40 hours in one workweek, every hour in excess of 40 must be compensated at one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay. Your company's designated seven-day overtime workweek is specified in your company handbook.
There are two ways you can compute a piece-rate worker's regular rate. You can divide the employee's total weekly earnings by the total hours worked in the workweek; or use the piece rate as the regular rate, and pay overtime at one and one-half times the regular piece rate, provided the following conditions are met:
- The piece rate in effect is the rate actually paid for work performed during the non-overtime hours, and it's at least equal to the minimum wage per hour.
- The employee receives one and one-half times this piece rate for each piece produced during overtime hours.
- The employee consents to this method in writing before performing the work.
Example: Steve is paid $12 per piece produced during a 40-hour week. Steve works 50 hours this week, and his total earnings based on pieces produced are $600.
- Under the first method, his regular rate would be $12 ($600 total weekly earnings divided by 50 total hours worked). For his ten hours of overtime, Steve is entitled to an additional $60 in half-time premium pay ($12 x 1/2 x 10 hours). His pay for the week, including overtime, is $660.
- Under the second method, Steve would be entitled to $18 (1 1/2 x regular $12 piece rate) per piece he produced during his ten overtime hours. Because Steve produced one piece per hour and worked 50 hours, his total pay would still amount to $660.
For questions on calculating piece-rate overtime, please contact your RMI Payroll Manager. |
| Federal and State Contracts |
| If your company has any federal or state contracts or subcontracts, please be sure to notify your RMI HR Representative. Depending on the effective date and dollar amount of your contract, you may be subject to additional federal or state reporting requirements. If made aware of your contracts, RMI can determine what you may be subject to and assist you with compliance. |
| Safe Driving Tip |
| OSHA Takes Aim At Cell Phones And Driving |
At an April 18th symposium focused on preventing accidents caused by distracted drivers during the course of their employment, David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Safety and Health, said that companies will be held responsible for cell phone-related accidents caused by their employees if the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decides that corporate policies contributed to the mishaps.
"We've never issued a citation or fine for distracted driving, but now we are prepared to and are putting that information out," Michaels told participants at the Symposium on Prevention of Occupationally Related Distracted Driving. "We're looking at a number of cases now. … If we find an employer has set up a situation where an employee has a strong incentive or is required to use their phone, and that had resulted in an accident that has any sort of personal damage, those are the first cases we want to take on because we think that message will be a very strong one."
OSHA actions will not require a new rule or standard, Michaels said. Instead, the agency will use the general duty clause of the OSH Act requiring employers to provide a safe workplace that is free of recognized hazards. Michaels said using cell phones in vehicles to send and answer text messages is recognized as a hazard, citing President Obama's 2009 executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving on the job or using government equipment and the thirty state laws banning texting while driving.
OSHA wants to work with employers to help them establish safety programs, Michaels said. He cited as an example a program used by Johnson & Johnson, the health care products and pharmaceutical supplier, in which the company has banned its U.S. employees from using their cell phones while driving on the job or in company vehicles.
Michaels said OSHA was not ready to enforce a ban on talking on a cell phone while driving at work, but that prohibition is a long-term goal for the agency.
Transportation safety researcher Jeffrey Hickman, of Virginia Tech's Center for Truck and Bus Safety, told the symposium that one study of truck drivers found that 60 percent of inattentive driving actions, such as drifting into the wrong lane or a sudden stop, involved some type of distraction, from texting to reaching for an object in a back seat. Drivers who texted while on the road were 23.4 percent more likely to have a distracted incident than the average driver, he said.
The evidence was not so clear about potential hazards of talking on a cell phone while driving. Hickman cited research showing that as long as drivers kept their eyes on the road, even while talking on a cell phone or CB radio, they were only slightly more likely to be distracted than other drivers. He added, however, drivers are at risk if they take their eyes off the road to dial a number or read a message.
For more information on OSHA laws or safe driving, please contact your RMI HR Representative. |
| Workplace Safety Tip |
| Confined Spaces |
Tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, pipelines, pits and vaults are just a few of the possible structures that may be defined as "confined spaces." Performing work inside a confined space often involves potential exposure to a combination of serious safety and health hazards. It can, however, be difficult to determine whether a given space is a permit-required confined space (PRCS) or a non-permit confined space (NPCS).
Steps to a Safe CSE
Entering and working in a confined space can be accomplished safely if all the confined space entry (CSE) team members know and carry out their responsibilities effectively. No matter what your role, you can make a significant impact on your own and your coworkers' health and safety by doing five simple things:
- Learn the locations of confined spaces in your work area.
- Never conduct an unauthorized entry, especially to rescue someone.
- Follow established work practices to the letter: seemingly minor modifications may introduce new hazards into the confined space that could be potentially dangerous.
- Know your responsibilities concerning CSEs. If you are not sure, ask your supervisor.
- If you observe or suspect a hazard, immediately bring it to the attention of the attendant and entry supervisor.
Permit Vs. Non-Permit
Not all confined spaces at your workplace are necessar¬ily PRCSs. An NPCS has all the characteristics of a PRCS except that when the NPCS was evaluated, it did not contain actual or potential serious health or safety hazards.
Your employer will issue an entry permit for each permit-required CSE. Before doing so, your employer will use air-testing instruments to check for the presence of air contaminants in the confined space and will take appropriate action to ensure that entry and work can be safely performed.
Terms
"Confined Space" is any space that:
- Is large enough and configured in such a way that an employee can bodily enter and perform work
- Has either limited or restricted means for entry or exit
- Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy
"Permit-Required Confined Space" is a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics:
- Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; or
- Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant; or
- Has an internal configuration that could trap or asphyxiate an entrant (e.g., converging walls, a sloping floor); or
- Contains any other recognized, serious safety or health hazard.
"Confined Space Entry" is when any part of a person's body breaks the plane of the confined space's opening.
"Entrant" is an individual who has received specific training and authorization from his or her employer to perform work in confined spaces.
"Attendant" is an individual who remains outside the space and is assigned to monitor activities and conditions within the confined space and in the surrounding area during a CSE.
For more information on confined spaces, please contact your RMI HR Representative. |
| To access the online Workplace Safety Training Log click here. |
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