Category: HR Hero Line

HR best practices, employment law tips, news and analysis, Q&As, and lessons learned from the courtroom.

EEOC Moves Forward with New ADA Regs

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is moving forward with new regulations that will make it much easier for employees claiming protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to establish that they have a covered disability. At a public meeting in June, the EEOC voted 2-1 to approve draft changes to the existing […]

What Should Employers Do When I-9s Aren’t Filled Out Completely?

by Emily Hobbs-Wright Q: We have 40 stores, and sometimes the I-9s we receive aren’t filled out completely. If just a date is missing (not verification of documents or a signature), can we e-mail the store and ask for the date and fill it in ourselves, or do we need to send the forms back […]

Proceed with Caution When Rehiring Laid-Off Employees

by Kara Shea One hopeful sign that our economy is perhaps inching back in the right direction is the number of calls I’ve received in recent weeks from clients inquiring about hiring back employees let go during a reduction in force (RIF). Some employers have told me they’re contemplating bringing back certain positions, or even […]

How Employers Can Avoid Becoming an EEOC Statistic: Part 2

by Amy M. McLaughlin In part one of this article, we discussed the increase in the number of discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against private-sector employers since 2006. In 2006, the EEOC saw it’s first increase in charge filings in four years. By 2008, the number of discrimination claims filed […]

Beware of Favoritism in the Hiring and Promotion Process

A federal appellate court recently allowed a discrimination case against an employer to proceed to trial because the hiring manager spent extra time with one of the candidates. Audit your hiring policies and practices with the Employment Practices Self-Audit Workbook Facts William Snooks started work as a customer activities specialist for Duquesne Light Company (DLC) […]

How Employers Can Avoid Becoming an EEOC Statistic: Part 1

by Amy M. McLaughlin In its year-end statistics, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 75,768 discrimination charges were filed against private-sector employers in 2006. That was the first increase in charge filings in four years. By 2008, the total number of charges filed with the EEOC had jumped 25% to 95,402. With workplace […]

DOL’s Renewed Focus: Wage and Hour Enforcement

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report and congressional testimony concerning its investigation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The GAO concluded that the “WHD frequently responded inadequately to complaints, leaving low wage workers vulnerable to wage theft.” This article summarizes the GAO’s report, DOL Secretary Hilda […]

Senate Finance Committee’s Proposals to Expand Health Care, Reduce Costs, and Pay for It All

Previously, we discussed three potential option papers the Senate Finance Committee released in April and May which outline major health care reform issues and approaches to resolving them. This week, we will look at the specifics of each of the three papers and what they mean for employers. Since the papers were released, the Congressional […]

Teaching Supervisors to Listen Is Key

Training your workforce from top to bottom is important so that everyone has a clear understanding of your company’s commitment to providing a fair and productive environment for all employees. And while it’s true that we can explain the various employment laws and reiterate that they require compliance from all of your employees (and that […]

EEOC Guidance, Best Practices for Working Caregivers

For many employees, the need to care for sick or very young family members weighs more heavily these days. Jobs are scarce, and staying employed is crucial, but family needs don’t magically disappear. While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows unpaid employee leave to care for others, it doesn’t apply to all employers, […]