CHICAGO — When it comes to employment laws, human resource experts know that July is the new January. This is because many employment rules and regulations often go into effect on July 1.
The same is true for this year. Rob Wilson, human resources expert and President of Employco USA, can speak to the new regulations that has hit many states in July, including:
- Reproductive Health: “Nevada is going to require all employers that offer health insurance plans to only offer plans that cover contraception,” says Wilson. “If you are a Nevada-based company and your health insurance for your employees doesn’t cover contraceptive services, you have to change this or risk penalty.”
- Biological Sex: “Starting on July 1, Kansas SB 180 goes into effect,” says Wilson. “This bill states that for the purposes of any state laws and regulations, biological sex is defined as the sex which was observed at a person’s birth. This will have an impact on everything from an employee’s identification documents to sex-segregated spaces in the workplace.”
- Artificial Intelligence: “Employers in New York have until July 5 to use an independent auditing service to test their A.I. tools for any potential bias or discrimination that may exist,” says Wilson. “They want proof from employers that their A.I. is not racist.”
- Anti-Semitism: “Starting July 31, Arkansas has given employers a newly updated definition of antisemitism that is to be used when determining whether or not antisemitism occurred in the workplace,” says Wilson.
- Workplace Violence: “In Utah, employers will now have the right to get a workplace violence protection order against any ex-employee who demonstrated violent or abusive behavior on the job,” says Wilson.
Also, upcoming:
- Natural Hair: “The CROWN Act goes into effect on August 1,” says Wilson. “Under this act, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee or potential employee because of their natural hair. This means that dreadlocks, twist, locs, and other natural hairstyles will be protected in the workplace.”