State labor legislation enacted in 2001; increases in minimum wage rates, restrictions on youth peddling, bans on discrimination because of genetic information, and protection from workplace harassment and violence were among major subjects of State labor legislation - State Labor Laws, 2001 - United States - Statistical Data Included

Monthly Labor Review, Jan, 2002 by Richard R. Nelson

Worker privacy. The recent trend continued among States adopting legislation providing immunity from civil liability to employers who furnish information about a current or former employee's job performance to a prospective or current employer. Such measures were adopted in Florida for law enforcement officers and in Arizona for mortgage bankers and brokers. Other significant measures include a Delaware law requiring employers who monitor employee telephone calls, electronic mail, or Internet access to give prior written notice to the employees, a new Minnesota requirement that employee-assistance records be maintained separate from personnel records and not included in an employee's personnel file, and a Vermont amendment adding the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of employers permitted to require polygraph examinations for certain applicants as a condition of employment.

Private employment agencies. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry will cease regulating search firms beginning July 1,2003. Employment agencies will continue to be regulated. New legislation was enacted in Arizona regulating the activities of day labor service agencies. Other laws limit the payroll deduction of applicant fees in Louisiana, and change coverage of the Texas law regulating talent agencies. California will require the annual licensure of private duty nursing agencies.

Workplace violence. In an emerging area addressing the issue of workplace violence, legislation was adopted in a few States. The Rhode Island Workplace Violence Protection Act of 2001 was enacted, permitting employers to seek a temporary restraining order and an injunction prohibiting further unlawful acts by an individual at the work site. Nevada also passed legislation allowing employers to seek court orders to prevent harassment in the workplace. California extended the time given to investigate hate crime law violations.

Agriculture. California made several changes concerning farm labor contractor regulation, including increasing civil penalties for violation and establishing a system for the verification of licenses. Other California laws address use of surety bonds to pay awards and the authority to collect monetary relief.

Discharge. The Montana law placing limits on an employer's right to discharge employees was amended to clarify rights during a probationary period. Changes were also made in the Minnesota law concerning the right to be informed of the reason for termination. Protection from discharge or discrimination was afforded to volunteer fire fighters in Washington and to emergency medical service attendants in West Virginia.

Other laws. Among other laws of interest, a no-sweatshop act was passed in New York permitting local school boards to consider labor standards and working conditions, including the use of child labor, in purchasing apparel. Connecticut enacted a law prohibiting employment exploitation of immigrant labor, and California made it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to have a policy that prohibits the use of any language in the workplace unless the policy is justified by business necessity. West Virginia added knowingly employing a person not having a legal right to be employed in the United States to the list of causes for disciplinary action under the State Contractor Licensing Act.