State of the Union — Employment Law

During the 2008 presidential campaign, I did several posts on what the election of Barack Obama would mean for employment law. Shortly before the election, I did a recap.

Like most employment law observers, I thought that the election of Obama would usher in a period of new employment legislation not seen since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. So far, the only law to be enacted occurred early in the Obama administration: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

In light of President Obama’s state of the union speech on January 27, it seems unlikely that any employment legislation will be enacted in 2010. By my count, the president mentioned three specific employment law issues: (1) greater enforcement of civil rights laws against employers that discriminate; (2) greater enforcement of the Equal Pay Act to ensure equal pay for women; and (3) immigration reform. The first two involve enforcement of laws that already exist. The third involves a possible law that has no chance of passing.

The president talked about jobs, and that involves employment, but not employment law. He also talked about health care reform, but calling it a real piece of employment legislation is a stretch.

There are plenty of pending real employment legislation proposals that could be passed. The fact that mid-term elections occur this year makes their passage highly unlikely. Thus, President Obama had little to nothing to say about them in his state of the union.

A lot has changed in a year. It no longer appears that we’ve entered a period of new employment laws. The president can cause greater enforcement of existing laws, but it seems all but certain that new employment laws have been put on hold.

Keep in mind, however, that I’ve been wrong before.

Keep up with the latest legal changes in federal employment laws in the Federal Employment Law Insider.

1. 

   Philip Miles says:

   January 28, 2010 at 8:30 am

   Thanks for the recap! I confess, I didn’t pay full attention for the whole speech so this post is quite helpful.

   There may not have been any huge new laws (aside from Ledbetter) but there were a few revisions last year. For example: FMLA for veterans; restriction of arbitration clauses for defense contractors; COBRA subsidies and extensions, etc. I’d also count Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as an employment law albeit with a very narrow scope.
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   January 28, 2010 at 9:11 am

   Philip,

   Thanks for your comment. Good points on your part.

   I have been so focused on the big ticket items that were supposed to be passed that I have a tendency to overlook the items you mentioned.

   I also don’t mean to say that the Obama administration hasn’t had an impact on more traditional employment law matters. It’s enforcement efforts for already existing laws are significant, and that can make a big difference over time.

   Thanks again.

   John