Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor, which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), has announced that it will soon publish—by June 2006—a new rule conforming the department’s regulations to recent court decisions concerning the FMLA.
We routinely do background checks on our final candidates for employment. Now we’ve got a finalist that we all really like, but the background check revealed a problem credit history. The job doesn’t involve money, but we’re wondering what the credit history might reveal about this person’s character. I want to ask the candidate about […]
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) has laid out a series of labor proposals for the coming year. They include expanding the federal family leave law to cover employers with as few as 10 workers; requiring employers to contribute to the cost of health insurance for employees and their families; and increasing the federal minimum wage by […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the latest in its elaws FirstStep Internet tools, the FirstStep Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Notices Advisor, which will help employers figure out which of the agency’s recordkeeping, reporting, and notice requirements apply to them. The FirstStep series also includes interactive tools on poster requirements and an overview of […]
by Jeff Hurt Nonunion employers must be scratching their collective heads over the recent shelling they’ve been getting as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeks to make union organizing easier: proposed labor law posting requirements, “quickie” election rules, and strict limitations on employer social media policies. While some of those initiatives are on hold, […]
A federal judge has rejected a request by the federal government to push up the timeline for deciding a case involving a controversial rule on the steps employers should take when they receive a No-Match letter—indicating that the information submitted for an employee fails to match government records. Now, the decision won’t be handed down […]
With California’s unemployment rate nearing 10 percent, jobseekers have to look harder than ever these days. For those lucky enough to receive a job offer, many are finding the offer to come with a lower starting pay than in previous years. And while businesses are suffering too in today’s economy, employers should beware that taking […]
As workplaces become more technology-dependent, more and more companies are hiring information technology (IT) employees to work in-house.
A federal district court temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule on November 22, just days before it was scheduled to take effect. The judge who issued the order called the regulation “unlawful” and said such actions should be left to Congress. At the request of 21 states, the U.S. District […]
An Orange County jury has ordered Edwards Theaters Circuit Inc., based in Newport Beach, to pay $276,000 in back overtime wages to four theater managers who claimed they were misclassified as exempt from overtime. The employees said they spent more than half their time performing non-exempt work, including cleaning up, taking tickets and selling popcorn, […]