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On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, has officially reached the level of a pandemic. Swine flu first became big news in the U.S in late April and early May, but within a couple of weeks was off most people’s radars. Although it […]
Q: Now that it’s getting warm (or should I say “hot”), some employees are wearing less and less to work every day. It doesn’t really bother me, but I believe some employees may be a little uncomfortable with the skimpy attire of their coworkers. A: As with most things that fall under the heading “best […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has entered into an agreement with Wheeler Construction in which Wheeler will pay two employees a total of $325,000 to settle a race discrimination claim. The case may reflect the EEOC’s increased attention to race discrimination claims, which, like other discrimination claims, are rising at a rapid rate. HR […]
On February 10, 2009, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) again introduced the Family Friendly Workplace Act, which, if passed, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and authorize private employers to provide compensatory (or “comp”) time off in lieu of overtime pay. For almost 20 years, the public sector has been using comp time, […]
by Rachel Blue Lately, we’ve seen a lot of employees walking out of buildings and plants with boxes of framed photos from their desks or lockers, and maybe a severance check in an envelope. The job cuts this time are deeper, and the next job may be further away than in the past. As a […]
Alexander Passantino’s advice to the lovelorn may not be the makings of the next Sex and the City show, but his pen holds serious sway with hipsters of the payroll specialist in crowd. Alex is the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). As the grand oracle of […]
by David Micah Kaufman Like many of us, several of my friends have recently suffered vocational dislocation (no matter what we name it, losing a job is still a tragedy). One of these friends called me a few weeks ago and told me he had landed a position as a independent contractor for a financial […]
A little-known provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) makes treatment by a chiropractor different from treatment by almost any other health care provider. Let’s take a closer look at that provision. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including FMLA What FMLA says about chiropractors The […]
by Al Vreeland What could be more noxious to the American soul than an assault on motherhood? We all have a mother (though some might question the genetic origin of lawyers). Many of us return to her apron strings when we need reassurance that we haven’t become fat and stupid (or at least completely so). […]
One of the clearest indications of an administration’s priorities is the budget and the amount of funding provided to various programs. Budgets always have winners and losers and reflect the degree to which programs will be implemented. A review of President Barack Obama’s proposed budget and recent agency actions demonstrates that increased enforcement of labor […]