Back now from its August Summer recess, the United States Congress has planned a busy Fall legislative agenda, considering a number of issues that will impact employment law and those who must deal with it. The Senate has passed a bill requiring parity of sorts in mental health benefits provided to employees. Another parity bill with differing provisions is pending in the House of Representatives. The House has held hearings on a bill precluding, on a national basis, job bias based on actual or perceived sexual orientation. This bill is not likely to pass this year, but may get new life depending on the outcome of the 2008 elections. Also pending are a bill prohibiting employment discrimination based on genetic status (passed by the House and pending in the Senate, where it likely will pass), a bill eliminating the use of arbitration in employment disputes and a bill seeking to overturn a Supreme Court case that imposed a rigid deadline on when gender wage discrimination lawsuits can be filed (this passed the House but President Bush says he will veto it). No further news regarding federal action on immigration reform, but watch for this to be a hot topic in various state legislatures. Past updates have discussed the new Department of Homeland Security regulations on what an employer should do when getting notice that an employee’s Social Security number does not match the government’s database. These have not yet gone into effect, due to a holding order issued by a federal judge presiding over a lawsuit challenging the legality of the regulations.