Update applicable to:
Employers with 20 or more employees in Louisiana
What happened?
Louisiana enacted HB200, which provides that retaliation against an employee for an absence from work due to genetic testing or a medically necessary cancer screening shall be an unlawful employment practice
What are the details?
Employers must provide one day of unpaid leave to employees for medically necessary genetic testing and preventive cancer screening. Private educational institutions, nonprofits, and religious organizations are exempt. Employees must be allowed to use any accrued paid time off, such as vacation time, during their leave.
Employee Notice and Documentation
Employers can require that employees provide at least 15 days’ notice of their need for leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so that it doesn’t disrupt business operations. Employers can also request documentation confirming that the testing or screening was performed but can’t ask for the test results.
Employer Notice
Employers need to post a notice about these rights in a conspicuous location at work. The state has been charged with creating a sample notice, which has not yet been released.
For more information, please see the links below:
Statute La. Stat. tit. 23 § 370
What do employers need to do?
Employers should add a genetic testing and preventive cancer screening leave policy to their handbook and post the notice prepared by the Louisiana Workforce Commission in a conspicuous location in the workplace, when it’s available.
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