Employment Law Tip: Dress Discrimination?
Can California employers impose different dress and grooming requirements on male and female employees? The answer is, it depends.
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D.C. Council approves bill providing paid family leave
The District of Columbia Council approved a bill on December 20 requiring employers to give workers eight weeks’ paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. Employers will pay for the leave through a payroll tax. In addition to the eight weeks of parental leave, the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act […]
OPM Issues Proposed Regs for FMLA, Other Types of Leave
The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued proposed regulations to address various issues regarding how federal employers may comply with the new military caregiver provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The proposed regulations are similar to the FMLA regulations issued last year by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). They […]
A slo-pitch: Playing baseball when ‘sick’ = cause for termination
by Kyla Stott-Jess Unexpected employee absences from work can be difficult for employers. Customer service may be compromised. Others’ jobs need to be adjusted. And an employer’s trust in the employee can be damaged. So can an employer terminate an employee for lying about the reason for an absence?
Religion Bias: Big Verdict for Worker Fired over Head Scarf
A jury in Phoenix has awarded $287,640—including $250,000 in punitive damages—in a religious discrimination suit against Alamo Car Rental brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC charged Alamo with post-9/11 backlash discrimination on the basis of religion when it fired a Somali customer sales representative in December 2001 for refusing to […]
Company Officials Aren’t Plan Fiduciaries, Not Liable for Missed Contributions
A company owner and another manager are not fiduciaries as defined by ERISA and the contributions they failed to make to their employees’ pension plans were not plan assets, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. This decision supports the premise that individual company officials who serve only as conduits for employees’ payments to […]
UAW plans to take fight over VW vote to Congress
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has dropped its appeal of a union vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but instead of giving up, the union says it will turn its attention toward Congress. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had scheduled an April 21 hearing in Chattanooga on the appeal of a […]
Survey Identifies Four Factors that Control Healthcare Cost Increases
A recent survey of 585 businesses identified major growth in companies offering high deductible healthcare plans, and noted four ways to restrain cost increases. Once upon a time, if you worked for a good company and you got sick, you went to any doctor, hospital, or pharmacy and handed them your health plan card. That […]
The 2 Factors That Most Affect Employee Performance
By BLR Founder and Publisher Bob Brady TV relationship expert “Dr. Phil” McGraw, reminds our boss of what employees most want from their bosses. As this is written, I’m attending the National Convention of the YMCA, in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m proud to serve as a ‘Y’ volunteer. This organization is the largest provider of daycare […]
In McCutchen, Supreme Court Faces Thorny Decision on ERISA Recovery Rights
A victory by the health plan participant in US Airways v. McCutchen, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, may erode ERISA plans’ ability to enforce plan terms as written, a legal expert tells the blog. In McCutchen, the Court has a very difficult balancing act to answer whether: (1) an ERISA health plan administrator is entitled […]