The Chicago Tribune reports that a bill to protect current and prospective employees from requirements to provide their social media passwords to their employers has gone to Governor Quinn.
If this bill is signed into law, Illinois will join Maryland as the only two states with these sorts of protections in place.
Employers regularly use criminal background checks and credit checks to narrow their list of applicants. High unemployment has vastly expanded the applicant pool and employers now have the luxury of selecting only the most qualified candidates. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) had been largely quiet on the legality of these somewhat invasive tests since 1990 but has now issued new guidance.
CAN I STILL DO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS ON APPLICANTS?
Yes. The ability to do a background check on a job applicant has not been substantially limited. What has been greatly changed is the employer’s use of information obtained in a background check. Employers have been asked by the EEOC to no longer throw out an application because of a prior arrest or general conviction.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a federal law requiring employers to grant paid leave in certain situations for employees. It was written in order to help American employees take care of their families, loved ones, and themselves in the case of medical necessity. Not all employees are covered and requirements for coverage vary state-by-state.
Are you covered by the FMLA?
The federal FMLA only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the employee’s jobsite. If you work at a company with less than 50 employees, you generally are not covered. The employee must also have worked for their employer for over a year and worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months. Some states, however, have lessened the threshold for coverage in their state’s version of the FMLA.
Virginia Employment Law Blog