PHR/SPHR Compensation & Benefits Legislation

DAVIS-BACON ACT & RELATED ACTS 1931

established prevailing wage and benefit requiements for contractors on federally funded construction projects

COPELAND "ANTI-KICKBACK" ACT 1934

prohibits federal contractors from receiving kickbacks from employees or subcontractors for wages earned on federal projects

WALSH-HEALEY ACT 1936

extended the concept of prevailing wage to employers who manufacture or supply goods under government contracts and required time and a half

SERVICE CONTRACT ACT1965

extended prevailing wage rate and benefit requirements to employers providing services under federal government contracts

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) 1938

aka "wage and hour law" - regulates employee status, overtime pay, child labor, minimum wage, record keeping, and other administrative concerns

PORTAL-TO-PORTAL ACT 1947

defines general rules for hours worked

EQUAL PAY ACT (EPA) 1963

prohibits wayge discrimination by requiring equal pay for equal work

AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT (ADEA) 1967

determined that older workers may not be discriminated against by performance-based pay systems

WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT (WOTC)

tax credit to encourage employers to hire people from targeted groups

EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT (ERISA) 1974

established uniform minimum standards for employer-sponsored retirement and health and welfare benefit programs

RETIREMENT EQUITY ACT (REA)1984

provided certain legal protections for spousal beneficiaries of qualified retirement plans

CONSOLIDATED OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT (COBRA) 1985

provides individuals and dependents who may lose medical coverage with opportunity to pay to continue coverage

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) 1996

made changes to improve health-care coverage portability and accessibility and provide medical record privacy and security

OLDER WORKER'S BENEFIT PROTECTION ACT (OWBPA) 1990

amended ADEA to include all employee benefits; also provided terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AMENDMENTS (UCA) 1992

imposed a mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding requirement on most qualified retirement plan proceeds that a recipient does not roll over into another qualified retirement plan or individual retirement account

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) 1993

provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or because of a serious health condition of the employee

UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT (USERRA 1994

protects employment, reemployment, and retention rights for persons who voluntarily or involuntarily serve or have served in the uniformed services

MENTAL HEALTH PARITY ACT (MHPA) 1996

addresses parity between mental health benefits and medical benefits

GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT (GINA) 2007

prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and health care

PENSON PROTECTION ACT 2006

changes the laws that affect defined benefit plans, defined contributions plans, individual retirement accounts, and other issues related to retirement planning

REVENUE ACT 1978

added sections 123 and 401(k) to the tax code

TAX REFORM ACT 1986

made significant changes in employee benefit programs especially retirement plans

OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION ACT (OBRA) 1993

reduced compensation limits in qualified retirement programs

SMALL BUSINESS JOB PROTECTION ACT (SBJPA) 1996

changed rules regarding the ability of tax-exempt organizations to institute retirement plans modeled after 401(k) and IRA accounts and to the definition of highly compensated employees

TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT (TRA) 1997

created tax advantaged savings mechanisms

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT (EGTRRA) 2001

adjusts minimum wage vesting schedules, increases compensation and contribution limits, permits catch-up contributions by participants age 50 or older in certain retirement plan, and modifies distribution and rollover rules

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT 1934

regulated "insider trading

SURBANES-OXLEY ACT (SOX) 2002

requires administrators of defined contribution plansto provide notice of covered blackout periods; provides whistleblower protection for employees