Month: September 2012

Are Your Employees Allowed to Surf the Web?

A new survey suggests that some organizations are not too concerned about cracking down on employees surfing the Web, at least not enough to create a policy. A surprising amount of employers (53 percent) allow access to social networking, shopping, and entertainment sites, according to a recent OfficeTeam survey. Out of the three categories, “social […]

Do Interns Crash the Learned House of Geeks?

It’s hard to believe that the “wedding crashers” would be allowed to crash into the citadel of Internet security and secrecy, that house of learned geeks—the Google campus! A new movie, “The Internship,” starring Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Owen Wilson, was rumored to be filming in Silicon Valley.   And yes, these 40-ish guys are […]

Back Pay Damages Include Overtime in FMLA Retaliation Claim, Courts Rule

Employers should be aware that back pay sometimes can entail more than base compensation. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals provided that reminder through its recent holding that overtime compensation may be included in an award of back pay. The case is Pagán-Colón v. Walgreens of San Patricio, Inc., Nos. 11-1089, 11-1091 (1st Cir. […]

Okla. AG Seeks Change to Employer Mandate in Health Law

Oklahoma’s Attorney General has revived his state’s challenge to the federal health reform law, this time targeting the law’s employer mandate. The state’s amended complaint at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma seeks to overturn an IRS regulation allowing some consumers to get federal subsidies to buy insurance on health insurance […]

California Outlaws ‘Demand Letters’ in Attempt to Curb Predatory ADA Suits

Letters demanding that businesses fix accessibility violations or settle with the sender are now prohibited in California thanks to a law that took effect last week. The bill, SB 1186, amended state law “by prohibiting ‘demand for money’ letters, where attorneys target businesses with alleged minor access violations and demand a quick monetary settlement in […]

Diversity Training Exercise: Can This Comment Lead to Legal Trouble?

Figures from the most recent census show that minorities account for almost a third of the U.S. workforce, 10% of workers are age 55 or over, and almost half the workforce are women. In the future, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that minorities will approach 50% of the American workforce, and the number […]

Pay for Performance? Your Comp Program Is Still ‘Old School’

Even with pay for performance, says Epps, managing partner of EP2S Compensation Solutions, LLC, many companies are promoting the wrong people and granting raises for the wrong reasons. Promotional raises increase labor costs, but don’t necessarily help the company perform better. “Whether the company’s performance is good or poor doesn’t make much difference in labor […]

DHS allows illegal aliens to defer deportation and seek employment in the United States

by Matthew J. Snyder The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a directive that allows illegal aliens who satisfy certain criteria to temporarily defer their deportation and seek employment in the United States. Deferments are for two years and are renewable. While in deferment status, aliens may seek work authorization from the U.S. […]

Incentive Pay for Non-Exempts–OK if You Are Careful

Incentives for non-exempts? It can be very successful, say consultants Brandon Cherry and Brooke Green, but you have to be careful structuring and managing the plan, and wage/hour regulations make it trickier. Cherry and Green, both of whom are principals at HR consultant Hay Group, offer the table below to show how incentives fit into […]