The EEO-1 is an annual survey that requires all private employers with 100 or more employees and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a contract/subcontract of $50,000 or more to file the EEO-1 report.  The EEO-1 report provides employment data by race/ethnicity, gender and job categories. The filing of the EEO-1 report is not voluntary and is required by federal law.  The annual filing deadline is March 31.

Employers who meet the criteria listed above and have not received the 2017 EEO-1 Notification Letter by Jan. 29, 2018, should imme­diately contact the EEO-1 Joint Reporting Committee at 1-877-392-4647 (toll-free) or by e-mailing [email protected].   The EEOC’s EEO-1 Survey website at https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey contains reference documents such as a EEO-1 User’s Guide, sample form, instructions, FAQs, a fact sheet and a EEO-1 Job Classification Guide.

The EEOC announced today a settlement of an ADA failure to accommodate charge filed against ValleyLife that included a payment of $100,000, among other remedies.

The charge alleged that ValleyLife violated the ADA’s reasonable accommodation obligation by terminating employees automatically upon exhaustion of their paid time off and/or any unpaid leave period (such as FMLA). According to the EEOC, the employer should have engaged in an interactive process with the Charging Party to explore other accommodations (including additional time off) before considering termination.

Key Take-Aways From this Settlement

* Providing an employee with a medical leave of absence for the full time period required by company policy and/or applicable leave laws (such as FMLA) does not necessarily satisfy the employer’s reasonable accommodation obligation under the ADA

**  Each medical leave of absence scenario must be evaluated on an individualized basis to determine if accommodations exist to avoid termination

*** The interactive process MUST be documented in a carefully crafted communication to the employee in case the decision is later challenged    

As previously advised (see https://gabrielashworth.com/arizona-passes-proposition-raising-minimum-wage-and-requiring-paid-sick-leave/) the “Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act” (the “Act”) requires employers to post a notice in the workplace describing employees’ rights under the Act.  The Industrial Commission of Arizona has published model minimum wage and paid sick leave notices in both English and Spanish, which can be found at https://www.azica.gov/posters-employers-must-display.  Even though the paid sick leave law does not become effective until July 1, 2017, we recommend employers post both notices now.

With the passage of Proposition 206, many Arizona employees will be getting a raise and paid sick leave.  The new law, known as the “Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act” (the Act), increases Arizona’s minimum wage from its current $8.05/hour to $10.00/hour, effective January 1, 2017.  For the following 3 years, the minimum wage will increase by specified amounts, capping out at $12.00/hour on January 1, 2020.  Beginning January 1, 2021, the minimum wage will increase annually based on cost living as measured by the consumer price index.

As of July 1, 2017, Arizona employers must provide all employees with paid sick leave.  Employers with fewer than 15 employees must provide employees with 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 24 hours per year.  Employers with 15 or more employees must provide 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.  The Act broadly defines the reasons employees may use sick leave and contains multiple rules regarding the accrual, taking and administration of paid sick leave.  Employers are required to post a notice in the workplace that outlines employees’ rights under the Act.  The Arizona Industrial Commission will soon publish a model notice.

What to do?  Audit your workforce to determine who will be entitled to a wage increase on January 1, 2017.  Review your current sick leave or PTO policy to ensure the policy meets the requirements of the Act. If not, the policy should be amended before July 1, 2017.   We are available to answer any questions you may have and/or assist with revising your policies and procedures to address the Act’s requirements.

On August 6, 2016, a new Arizona law (A.R.S. §23-1601) will go into effect that provides a mechanism for a business and an independent contractor who furnishes services to that business to establish a “rebuttable presumption of an independent contractor relationship.”  This rebuttable presumption exists if the independent contractor signs a “Declaration” of independent business status that “substantially complies” with the list of 14 representations set forth in the statute.  For example, the Declaration must specify that the relationship is non-exclusive and the contractor is not entitled to any employee benefits from the contracting business.

This statute underscores the importance of ensuring that an independent contractor relationship is properly documented so that a business and its independent contractors can benefit from the “rebuttable presumption” created by this new law.  However, obtaining a signed Declaration that complies with A.R.S. 23-1601 does not mean the business is immune from an independent contractor misclassification challenge.  The court or government authority investigating such a challenge will necessarily look past the Declaration and examine the economic reality of the relationship.