Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

The fiscal year 2010 was a record-setting year for the number of private-sector discrimination charges filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Nearly 100,000 charges were filed -- the most charges in the commission’s  45-year history.  This number represents an increase of just over seven percent from 2009, becoming the third consecutive year in which over 90,000 charges were filed.

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that claims brought by African American firefighters who had sued the City of Chicago alleging that a hiring test was discriminatory were not time barred.  Lewis v. City of Chicago, No. 08-974, 560 U.S. ___ (2010).  The City conceded that its use of the hiring test was unlawful, but argued that the firefighters claims were untimely.  Addressing only the statute of limitations issue, the Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of the firefighters, holding that the firefighters timely filed a disparate impact claim based on the continued use of the hiring test.

In its recently published Spring 2010 Regulatory Agenda, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it plans to propose a rule that would amend the current recordkeeping regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  Under the proposed rule, any employers seeking to exclude workers from the FLSA’s coverage will be required to perform a classification analysis, disclose that analysis to the worker, and retain that analysis to provide to Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) enforcement personnel upon request.  The proposal will also address burdens of proof when employers fail to comply with records and notice requirements.