17.5 Employment Laws: ADEA, Pregnancy Protections, Uniform Guidelines, OSH Act & Canadian Law

17.5 Employment Laws: ADEA, Pregnancy Protections, Uniform Guidelines, OSH Act & Canadian Law

Quick Answer: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA, 1967) protects people 40 and older and covers state and local governments of any size; its special hiring and retirement age exemption applies only to firefighters and law enforcement officers. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) treats pregnancy discrimination as sex discrimination, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers with 15 or more employees to accommodate known pregnancy-related limitations unless doing so causes undue hardship. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) use the four-fifths rule to identify adverse impact and require validated tests. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires safe workplaces, but public employees are covered only in states with OSHA-approved State Plans. Canadian candidates should also know the Constitution Act, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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1. Law Map

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2. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Coverage

• Protects applicants and employees age 40 and older from age-based decisions in hiring, promotion, pay, training, layoffs, and benefits.
• Applies to private employers with 20 or more employees, and to state and local governments. In Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido (2018), the Supreme Court held that the ADEA covers political subdivisions regardless of size.
• In Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents (2000), the Court held that states (but not local governments) are immune from private ADEA damages suits in federal court. The EEOC can still enforce the law, and state age discrimination laws often apply.

Key Rules

• No mandatory retirement for most employees because of age.
• Public safety exemption: State and local governments may set hiring and retirement ages for firefighters and law enforcement officers under specific conditions. The exemption does not extend to civilian telecommunicators.
• Defenses: A bona fide occupational qualification (rarely available) or a reasonable factor other than age. Disparate impact claims are allowed under the ADEA (Smith v. City of Jackson, 2005).
• Waivers (Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, 1990): A release of ADEA claims must be knowing and voluntary: written in plain language, specifically mention the ADEA, advise the employee to consult an attorney, provide at least 21 days to consider (45 days for group programs), and allow 7 days to revoke after signing.

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3. Pregnancy Protections

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

Listed in the ENP Body of Knowledge as the Pregnancy Discrimination in Employment Act (1978), the PDA amended Title VII so that discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is sex discrimination. Employers must treat pregnant employees the same as other employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work. In Young v. UPS (2015), the Supreme Court held that an employer's accommodation policies for other workers can support a pregnancy discrimination claim when pregnant workers are denied similar help.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)

• Effective June 27, 2023, for employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments.
• Requires reasonable accommodation of an employee's or applicant's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship.
• Employers may not force an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation would work, may not require the employee to accept an accommodation other than one reached through the interactive process, may not deny opportunities because of the need to accommodate, and may not retaliate.
• The EEOC's implementing regulations took effect June 18, 2024. In May 2025, a federal court vacated the parts of those regulations that required accommodation for elective abortions; the statute and the rest of the regulations remain in effect.

PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act

The PUMP Act (2022) expanded Fair Labor Standards Act protections so most employees, including salaried employees, receive reasonable break time and a private space other than a bathroom to express breast milk for up to one year after a child's birth.

PSAP Accommodation Examples

Sit-stand consoles and seating, more frequent restroom and hydration breaks, limits on mandatory overtime holdovers, temporary schedule changes, temporary assignment to training or administrative duties, and a lactation space close to the dispatch floor.

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4. Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP)

Purpose

Adopted in 1978 by the EEOC, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Civil Service Commission (now the Office of Personnel Management), the Uniform Guidelines explain how employers should evaluate tests and other selection procedures used for hiring, promotion, and similar decisions.

The Four-Fifths (80%) Rule

Adverse impact is indicated when a group's selection rate is less than four-fifths (80%) of the rate for the group with the highest selection rate.

Worked example: 60 of 100 male applicants pass a dispatcher skills test (60%), and 21 of 50 female applicants pass (42%).

• Impact ratio = 42% ÷ 60% = 70%
• 70% is below 80%, so the results indicate adverse impact.

Adverse impact does not automatically make a test illegal, but the employer must show the procedure is valid (job-related and consistent with business necessity) and consider alternatives with less adverse impact.

Types of Validity Evidence

Employers should also keep applicant flow records by sex, race, and ethnicity so they can monitor adverse impact.

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5. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)

Core Requirements

• Signed in December 1970 and effective in 1971, the OSH Act created OSHA and requires employers to comply with safety and health standards.
• The General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) requires employers to keep workplaces free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Public Employers

Federal OSHA does not cover state and local government employees directly. Public employees are covered only in states with OSHA-approved State Plans, which must include public employers, and some State Plans cover only public employees. PSAP managers should know whether their state has a plan and which standards apply.

Common PSAP Hazards

Where OSHA rules apply, employers keep injury and illness records (such as OSHA 300 logs) and report serious incidents as required.

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6. Canadian Employment Law Framework

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7. Operational Traps & ENP Exam Watch

• ADEA Starts at 40: There is no upper age limit, and civilian telecommunicators are not covered by the public safety retirement exemption.
• Local Governments of Any Size: Mount Lemmon confirmed ADEA coverage for small political subdivisions.
• Four-Fifths Rule Math: Divide the lower selection rate by the highest; under 80% signals adverse impact.
• PWFA vs. PDA: The PDA bars discrimination; the PWFA adds an affirmative duty to accommodate.
• OSHA and Public Employees: Coverage depends on an OSHA-approved State Plan.