Jon
Yarbrough's
"Employment
Law Corner"
courtesy of the
Asheville Citizen-Times
The
Employment Law Corner is the property
of the Asheville
Citizen-Times to whom we extend our thanks for allowing us to
republish the article.
How will
Democrats' agenda and control of Congress affect the workplace?
by Jonathan W. Yarbrough
published January 15, 2007
For the first time since 1994, Democrats are in
control of both houses of Congress. What does this mean for employers?
The U.S. House, with Democrats leading the way,
voted last week to raise the federal minimum wage. Now $5.15 per hour,
the minimum wage will increase to $7.25 per hour. The bill moves on to
the Senate, which could act in the next few weeks. The bill would
raise the wage floor in three steps. It would go to $5.85 an hour 60
days after signed into law by the president, to $6.55 a year later and
to $7.25 a year after that.
This will not be that major of a change, as 29
states already have enacted minimum wage legislation that is in excess
of the current federal minimum wage. President Bush has already come
out in support of increasing the minimum wage provided it is phased in
over two years and provided there are relief measure enacted for small
businesses.
Immigration will continue to be a hot topic in
2007. Sen. Barack Obama, who may have presidential aspirations, will
likely play a lead role for the Democrats on immigration reform. Many
states, cities and towns will seek their own answers to the
immigration issue by enacting statutes and ordinances.
Congress may take another look at the Family and
Medical Leave Act. The Department of Labor has been soliciting
comments and suggestions on the FMLA. The Labor Department is seeking
employer comment on the definition of eligible employee and the
definition of serious health condition and on the use of intermittent
and part-time leave, among other issues.
The Democrats are likely to seek to amend the FMLA
to extend coverage for parents involved in school-related activities
with their children. They may also seek to amend the law to cover
victims of domestic violence. Another possible change would be to
lower the threshold for employer coverage under the law from 50
employees within a 75 mile radius to 25 employees. On a related issue,
the Democrats may seek to enact some form of paid sick leave for
employers with at least 15 employees. Presently, sick leave is
addressed through state laws.
One change the Democrats are already pushing for is
in the way unions are recognized. An employer now recognizes a union
after a secret ballot of the workers in the unit sought to be
unionized. Sen. Ted Kennedy is pushing legislation that would require
an employer to recognize a union as the bargaining unit for employees
if a majority of the workers sign a card supporting the union. This
measure would likely face veto from President Bush.
This is the opinion of Jonathan W. Yarbrough. He is
a member of the law firm of Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLC, which is
dedicated to representing management exclusively in all aspects of the
employment relationship. Contact Yarbrough at 277-5137 or
jyarbrough@constangy.com.
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