State labor legislation enacted in 1986

Monthly Labor Review, Jan, 1987 by Richard R. Nelson

Discrimination in employment on the basis of physical or mental disability unrelated to job performance was prohibited under the South Dakota Human Relations Act. Ohio enacted a Bill of Rights for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled persons, and in Rhode Island, the Fair Employment Practices Act was amended to add to the list of unlawful employment practices the failure by an employer to reasonably accomodate a worker's handicap.

The testing of employees for drugs and for the AIDS antibody as conditions of employment emerged as subjects of legislation. In Wisconsin and Massachussetts, employers are prohibited from requesting or requiring a test for the presence of the AIDS antibody as a condition of employment. Maine established a commission to examine the issues involved in testing employees for the use of alcohol and controlled substances, and San Francisco adopted an ordinance prohibiting drug testing. The San Francisco ordinance also prohibits employer interference in an employee's personal relationships, organizations, or activities.

A new comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted in West Virginia applicable to employees of the State with provision for optional coverage by political subdivisions of the State. Among a number of other worker safety measures adopted were laws in six States (Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Vermont) dealing with various aspects of asbestos abatement work including provisions relating to such matters as regulation or licensing of contractors, safety training of employees, and advance notification of any work to be performed; a similar law in California regulated contractors engaging in the removal of hazardous substances. Amendments were made in some of the State laws which afford workers the right to be informed of and given training on toxic substances found in the workplace, including an amendment in Michigan incorporating the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard by reference into the State law. Other laws were enacted concerning mine, elevator, and amusement ride safety, and a resolution was adopted in Tennessee requesting a study of the need for minimum health and safety standards for the operation of video display terminals.

California, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico enacted or amended laws protecting employees from retaliation for reporting violations of law to a public body, or for participating in an investigation, hearing, or court action.

Among other legislation enacted in 1986, several additional States required background checks of prospective child care operators or workers; collective bargaining laws in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, and Wisconsin were either enacted or amended to expand public sector coverage; several States amended laws regulating private employment agencies; Kentucky, Michigan, and Missouri passed legislation aimed at assisting workers and communities facing mass layoffs or plant closings; law prohibiting the taking of polygraph examinations as a condition of employment were amended in Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Tennessee; and Arizona, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Utah passed laws regulating smoking in the workplace. New York Enacted an apparel industry registration law establishing a special task force to enforce labor standards in that industry. The Tennessee law banning the knowing employment of illegal aliens was amended to authorize exemptions from the law, and the Louisiana law prohibiting the knowing employment of illegal aliens was amended to prohibit any such employment whether knowing or not.