Notable Federal Laws Enacted in Response to the #MeToo Movement
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) from 2017 amended the Internal Revenue Code to change how companies take tax deductions for money used to settle claims of sexual harassment or abuse. If an employer wants a tax deduction for the costs of settling a sexual harassment claim, they won’t be able to also include a nondisclosure agreement as one of the terms in the settlement. In other words, if the employer wants the worker to stay quiet about what happened to them, the employer can’t take the tax deduction for the money spent to settle the case.
In March 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Act of 2021 into law. This law lets employees sue employers in court for sexual harassment and/or sexual abuse claims, even if the employee signed an arbitration agreement stating that such disputes must be arbitrated. This law also permits employees to bring class action lawsuits for sexual harassment and abuse claims even if they previously waived the right to do so.
In late November, Congress passed a proposed law (it hasn’t been signed by President Biden as of the time of this writing, but it’s fully expected he will sign it) called the Speak Out Act. This law takes the next step in protecting victims of sexual abuse and assault in the workplace.
An Overview of the Speak Out Act
The Speak Out Act (SOA) is an unusual example of bipartisanship in Washington. The Senate...
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