Category: HR Management & Compliance
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
Polo Ralph Lauren Sued For Labor Violations
Supreme Court Hands Down Retaliation Decision
by Peter Panken On June 22, the U.S. Supreme Court decided an employment retaliation case in which it held that any action by an employer against an employee, applicant, or even a former employee constitutes unlawful retaliation if the action would deter a reasonable employee from filing a discrimination charge against an employer. Retaliation cases […]
Employment Law Tip: Driving Safety Quiz
If you have employees who drive, even occasionally, as part of their jobs, it’s important to provide training in motor vehicle safety. Here’s a quick quiz you can administer and discuss with employees to drive home some key road safety points. (The answer key follows the quiz.)
Equal Pay: OFCCP Issues Guidelines for Rooting Out Systemic Pay Bias
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces federal anti-bias and affirmative action laws affecting federal contractors, has issued new rules for finding discrimination in federal contractors’ pay systems, as well as guidelines for contractors to conduct self-audits. The rules went into effect on the same day the OFCCP published them, June 16, […]
Retaliation: High Court Expands Protections for Employees
The U.S. Supreme Court has just issued a ruling that expands retaliation protections for employees who complain about workplace bias. The ruling limits employers’ discretion to make routine employment decisions.
Can your company defend against sexual harassment charges when harassment has actually happened?
The answer is a very qualified yes, and points up why it’s far better to stop sexual harassment before it occurs. As law school professors everywhere would outline it, “Supervisor A engages in sexual harassment of Employee B, who works for him. Is there any way Company C, which employs them both, would not be […]
Harassment: FedEx Ground Slapped with $61 Million Verdict
A jury in Alameda County has awarded $61 million to two former FedEx Ground drivers who charged they were harassed by a manager for over two years. The drivers, Edgar Rizkallah and Kamil Issa—both of Lebanese descent—claimed that manager Stacy Shoun at the company’s Oakland terminal subjected them to a barrage of racial slurs, including […]
Adding Up the Costs of the Family & Medical Leave Act – FMLA
A business-funded think tank has surveyed employers and concluded they “face a significant financial burden” when it comes to complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Based on its survey, the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policy Foundation (EPF) estimates that FMLA compliance cost employers $21 billion in 2004. The direct costs included net labor […]
Will your overtime payment practices trigger a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) audit?
Many employers are worrying overtime about overtime as the Fair Labor Standards Act is used more aggressively, and against some of the biggest players in business. Competitors in the retail business have been reluctant to take on Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retail chain. No such problem for the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The department’s bird […]