It’s no secret that California provides a tough legal and regulatory environment for employers. As a result, many employers that operate here feel that the state has it out for them. But few have as strong a basis for that feeling as LSAC (Law School Admission Council, Inc. — a nonprofit that administers the Law School Aptitude Test or LSAT).
Education Code section 99161.5, which took effect January 1, 2013, focuses exclusively on LSAC. It first requires the company to provide accommodations for disabled test-takers, which it was already doing. It then goes on to require that the process for determining whether an accommodation is warranted “be made public” and that there be a right to appeal.
But what’s causing the most controversy is section 99161.5(c), which says that LSAC can’t notify law schools if, for example, a test-taker received extra time as an accommodation. As reported in Law 360 (subscription), LSAC is suing over that provision, saying that it violates the equal protection clauses of the U.S. and California constitutions by singling LSAC out to the exclusion of other testing services.
So listen up employers: The next time you’re feeling picked on by the State of California, just be glad that it’s not enacting legislation focusing exclusively on your business.