Page 169 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

necessity to make sure that an employee’s request for leave is temporarily confidential and
exempt from exposure until one year after the leave has been taken.
Worker privacy. All complaints, and other records in the custody of any agency regard-
ing a complaint, of discrimination relating to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
handicap, or marital status in connection with hiring practices, position classifications, sal-
ary, benefits, discipline, discharge, employee performance, evaluation, or any related ac-
tivities shall be confidential. Any Federal or State agency that is authorized to have access
to such complaints or records shall be granted access in the furtherance of such agency’s
statutory duties. If the victim chooses not to file a complaint, he or she may request that
records of the complaint remain confidential and exempt from relevant public-record
requirements. The request is upheld until a finding is made relating to probable cause, the
investigation of the complaint becomes inactive, or the complaint or other record is made
part of the official record of any hearing or court proceeding. This exemption is necessary
because the release of such information could be defamatory to an individual under inves-
tigation or could cause unwarranted damage to the good name or reputation of the com-
plainant. Further, exclusion of the records is a public necessity in order that the investigation
not be significantly impaired and that a secure environment be created for the conduct of
the investigation.

GEORGIA

Unfair labor practice. Except for exclusions provided by State Code, no private or public
employer, including the State and its subdivisions, shall condition employment upon any
agreement by a prospective employee that prohibits the employee from entering the parking
lot and from access thereto when the employee’s privately owned motor vehicle contains a
firearm that is locked out of sight within the trunk, glove box, or other enclosed compart-
ment or area within such privately owned motor vehicle, provided that the employee pos-
sesses a State firearms license. In addition, except for exclusions provided by State Code, no
private or public employer, including the State and its subdivisions, shall establish, main-
tain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of allowing such employer or its agents
to search any locked, privately owned vehicles of employees or invited guests on the
employer’s parking lot or to gain access thereto.

HAWAII

Human trafficking. The State Revised Statutes were amended in order to expand the defini-
tion of “kidnapping” to include unlawfully obtaining a person’s labor or services, regardless
of whether it is or is not related to the collection of debt. The statutes now specify that a
person commits “extortion” if the person obtains, or exerts control over, the property, labor,
or services of another with the intent to deprive that other person of property, labor, or ser-
vices by threatening, by word or conduct, to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess
any actual or purported passport, any other actual or purported government identification
document, or any immigration document of another person. Further, the legislation explains

152 The H R Toolkit