Joanne.Deschenaux

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced Feb. 26, 2013, that its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is rescinding two enforcement guidance documents on pay discrimination, originally issued in 2006, commonly known as the “Compensation Standards” and “Voluntary Guidelines.” The rescission is effective Feb. 28.

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to struggle over the question of who qualifies as a supervisor under federal nondiscrimination laws. Hearing oral arguments in a case from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 26, 2012, the high court addressed the issue, left unanswered in previous Supreme Court decisions, of when a “supervisor” includes an employee who oversees and directs other workers’ daily tasks, but has no authority over their formal employment status, (Vance v. Ball State Univ., No. 11-556).

A June 2012 “Office Pulse” survey of more than 600 U.S. workers by digital media company Captivate found that what white-collar employees consider acceptable and distracting in office attire varies by demographic factors including age, gender and professional status.

Nearly half of white-collar staffers said they’ve seen cleavage in the office, and 45 percent of workers report seeing tattoos. While 67 percent of employees ages 35 to 49 think tattoos are acceptable, 61 percent of those over 50 years old find them distracting.

Gov. Martin O’Malley, on May 2, 2012, signed S.B. 433, a bill prohibiting employers from requesting the social media passwords or accessing the social media accounts of prospective and current employees, making Maryland the first state to pass such a law.

The new provision, which will take effect Oct. 1, 2012, bars employers from requesting or requiring that an employee or applicant for employment disclose any user name, password or other means to access a “personal account or service” through an electronic communications device.