Summary of Major Federal and West Virginia Laws Affecting IOGA Employers

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 15 or more employees.
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 15 or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: Title VII prohibits discrimination and harassment of employees and applicants for employment on the basis of an individual's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions) or national origin.
Recommended Action: Ensure that your employee handbook contains a: (1) Equal Employment Opportunity policy; and (2) Anti-Harassment policy, including a specific procedure for reporting instances of harassment; (3) Conduct workplace harassment training and enforce prohibition of harassment.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1996 (ADEA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 20 or more employees.
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Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1996 (ADEA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 20 or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: ADEA prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants for employment over 40 years of age on the basis of their age.
Recommended Action: Ensure that your hiring documents (e.g., employment applications) do not request date of birth or year of graduation from high school. Ensure that hiring decisions are not based on age.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 15 or more employees.
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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing 15 or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: ADA prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants for employment who have a disability (a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity), a record of a disability, or are regarded as having a disability.
Recommended Action: If a disabled employee or applicant is qualified to perform the essential functions of his/her job with a "reasonable accommodation," the employer is obligated to provide the accommodation.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)
Covered Employers: All employers, unless exempt under the statute.
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Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)
Covered Employers: All employers, unless exempt under the statute.
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Summary of Statute: FLSA sets a minimum wage and maximum work hours before overtime pay is due for employees.
Recommended Action: Ensure that employees are properly classified as "exempt" and "non-exempt." Paying employees on a salary basis does not automatically make them exempt.

Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
Covered Employers: All employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
Covered Employers: All employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Summary of Statute: EPA prohibits pay discrimination between males and females for equal work on jobs.
Recommended Action: Ensure there are no pay disparities between male and female employees performing in jobs which require equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry or activity affecting commerce employing 50 or more employees.
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Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity engaged in an industry or activity affecting commerce employing 50 or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: Entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave (paid or unpaid) for the employee's own serious health condition, birth of a child, placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition.
Recommended Action: Ensure that you have the appropriate forms for employees to complete in order to seek leave.

Determine whether the leave will be paid or unpaid.

Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity in an industry or activity affecting commerce employing 15 or more individuals.
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Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Covered Employers: Any person or entity in an industry or activity affecting commerce employing 15 or more individuals.
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Summary of Statute: GINA prohibits discrimination and harassment against employees or applicants because of genetic information (which includes, for example, information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as family medical history).
Recommended Action: Ensure that you are not asking for or acquiring genetic information about either job applicants or employees.

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Covered Employers: Any business enterprise that employs 100 or more full-time employees.
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Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Covered Employers: Any business enterprise that employs 100 or more full-time employees.
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Summary of Statute: WARN requires 60 days' notice to employees, union representatives, local and state officials of any mass layoff or plant closing.
Recommended Action: Prior to any mass layoff or plant closing, determine whether notice must be given and to whom.

Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1971 (ERISA)
Covered Employers: All employers, employee welfare and pension benefit plans.
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Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1971 (ERISA)
Covered Employers: All employers, employee welfare and pension benefit plans.
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Summary of Statute: ERISA sets minimum standards for employee benefit plans in private industry to protect the rights and interests of individuals participating in such plans.
Recommended Action: Have benefit plan documents and operational practices reviewed by ERISA counsel to ensure compliance.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
Covered Employers: Group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees.
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Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
Covered Employers: Group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: Provides employees and families the right to choose to continue group health benefits following a loss of coverage in certain circumstances.
Recommended Action: Provide employees/qualified beneficiaries with required notice and benefit election forms on a timely basis.

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA)
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA)
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: Employers must provide employment and places of employment free from recognized hazards and comply with occupational safety and health standards.
Recommended Action: Conduct safety and health audit and inspection to determine the nature of any hazards and compliance with applicable standards.

West Virginia Human Rights Act
Covered Employers: Any person or entity employing 12 or more persons within the state.
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West Virginia Human Rights Act
Covered Employers: Any person or entity employing 12 or more persons within the state.
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Summary of Statute: The statute prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness, disability, or familial status.
Recommended Action: See above for Title VII. Include a specific reference to the West Virginia statute.

West Virginia Equal Pay Law
Covered Employers: Any person or entity employing one or more employees.
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West Virginia Equal Pay Law
Covered Employers: Any person or entity employing one or more employees.
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Summary of Statute: The statute prohibits discrimination between the sexes in the payment of wages for work of comparable character, the performance of which requires comparable skills.
Recommended Action: See above for Equal Pay Act.

Leave for Jury Duty
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Leave for Jury Duty
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: An employer may not discriminate against an employee by terminating or threatening to terminate the employee's employment or reducing his or her compensation because the employee receives a jury summons or is absent from work to respond to a jury summons or to serve jury duty.
Recommended Action: Determine whether the leave will be paid or unpaid. An employer is not required to pay an employee wages or compensation for work time lost while the employee is serving jury duty or responding to a jury summons.

Voting Leave
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Voting Leave
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: The statute entitles an employee to up to three hours of leave in order to vote in an election, provided the employee has submitted a written request at least three days before the election.
Recommended Action: No deduction may be made from the employee's wages or salary for such leave. However, an employer may deduct wages or salary for actual work time lost if an employee has at least three hours of nonwork time between the opening and closing of the polls and neglects to vote during such time.

Emergency Response Leave
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Emergency Response Leave
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: The statute prohibits an employer from discharging or disciplining an employee who is a member of a volunteer fire department or who is an emergency medical service attendant for loss of work time resulting from the employee's responding to an emergency if the employee responds to an emergency call prior to the time he/she is due to report to work.
Recommended Action: The employer can require the employee to provide a statement from the chief of the volunteer fire department or an appropriate person in charge of the emergency medical service certifying that the employee responded to an emergency call and including the time of the call.

The employer can charge the lost time against the employee's pay or against the employee's accumulated leave (if any), at the option of the employee.

Smokers' Rights
Covered Employers: All employers, with the exception of nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is to discourage the use of tobacco products by the general public.
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Smokers' Rights
Covered Employers: All employers, with the exception of nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is to discourage the use of tobacco products by the general public.
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Summary of Statute: The statute prohibits employers from refusing to hire any person or discharging or otherwise penalizing any employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment solely because the individual uses tobacco products off the employer's premises during nonwork hours.
Recommended Action: The statute does not preclude employers from making available, free of charge or at reduced rates, programs that encourage smokers or other users of tobacco products to reduce or stop smoking or using tobacco products.

Wage Payment and Collection Law
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Wage Payment and Collection Law
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: Requires that employers (except for railroad employers, which are subject to a different rule) pay employees their wages due at least every two weeks unless otherwise provided by special agreement.
Recommended Action: Ensure that employees are being paid their wages every two weeks or more often, unless otherwise provided by special agreement.

Wage Payment upon Termination of Employment
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Wage Payment upon Termination of Employment
Covered Employers: All employers.
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Summary of Statute: The statute provides that a discharged employee must receive his final paycheck within 72 hours of his discharge. An employee who quits must receive his final paycheck by the next regular payday or, if the employee has given one pay period's notice, the final paycheck must be provided at the time of quitting.
Recommended Action: The definition of "wages" includes accrued fringe benefits capable of calculation and payable directly to the employee. Thus, vacation pay is payable upon termination in the same manner as earned wages.

Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Law
Covered Employers: Any employer who employs six or more employees in one location, unless 80% of employer's employees are subject to the FLSA.
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Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Law
Covered Employers: Any employer who employs six or more employees in one location, unless 80% of employer's employees are subject to the FLSA.
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Summary of Statute: Requires that employers pay employees at least $7.25/hour and that employers must compensate employees at a rate of one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay.
Recommended Action: See above for FLSA.