OSHA regulations require that records be kept for many purposes. It is necessary to conduct and document inspections of the workplace, looking for safety and health hazards. It is necessary to document and make available to employees records about hazardous…
Regulations implementing this legislation have grown over time. They are complex and detailed. It is important that HR professionals understand the basics and how to obtain additional detailed information that applies to their particular employer circumstance. There are many standards…
Signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act created an administrative agency within the U.S. Department of Labor called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It also created the…
The HITECH Act requires that anyone with custody of personal health records send a notification to affected individuals if their personal health records have been disclosed, or the employer believes they have been disclosed, to any unauthorized person. Enacted as…
The law provides for two types of safety and health standards. The agency has therefore developed its regulations and standards in those two categories. Normal Standards. If OSHA determines that a specific standard is needed, any of several advisory committees…
Focused solely on pensions, this law requires employers that have underfunded pension plans to pay a higher premium to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). It also requires employers that terminate pension plans to provide additional funding to those plans.…
It is important to highlight the issue of whistleblowing. Protections against retaliation are embedded in various laws we cover in this chapter; laws with those provisions and protections include the Civil Rights Acts, OSHA, MSHA, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, ADA, and…
This law requires all states to establish and maintain a new hire reporting system designed to enhance enforcement of child support payments. It requires welfare recipients to begin working after 2 years of receiving benefits. States may exempt parents with…
Data Access The data in an HRIS is not restricted to just the HR department. This is referred to as democratization where HR data is provided with direct access by those who need it. Executives, finance, payroll, managers, hiring managers—there…
Prior to this legislation, the only employees who were protected against employment discrimination were the ones working for the federal, state, or local government and federal government contractors. They were captured by the Rehabilitation Act. As a matter of fact,…