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News Notes: Government Reports Decline In Lost Workdays From Injury And Illness

Since 1992, according to the U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics, the number of lost workdays because of work-related injuriesand illnesses has steadily declined. The decrease from 2000 to 2001 was 7.6percent. And strains and sprains, which generally account forabout four out of 10 injuries involving lost workdays, declined by 34.5 percentfrom 1992 to 2001.

Theft by Employees is Up

Poor economic conditions are contributing to a rise in workplace theft by employees, according to a new survey of 392 employers conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity. Twenty-four percent of all respondents and 31 percent of respondents at large companies (10,000 or more workers) reported an increase in theft of office supplies, products produced […]

Equal Pay: Female Lab Workers Charge Pay Bias

An Alameda County Superior Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit on behalf of as many as 10,000 women who claim they were passed over for promotions and paid less than male colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. An attorney representing the scientists estimated that the employer may face damages of more than $250 […]

EEOC Reports Record Highs, Reductions in 2011

According to the annual Performance and Accountability Report released in November, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finished fiscal year 2011 with a 10 percent decrease in its pending-charge inventory, the first such reduction since 2002. At the same time, the agency achieved the highest-ever monetary amounts through administrative enforcement, and it received a record […]

News Flash: Wage And Hour Hearings Wrap Up

On June 30, the Industrial Welfare Commission finished a series of hearings intended to finalize new wage orders that will be issued in October. At the hearing, the commission adopted new rules on a variety of wage and hour issues, including clarification of alternative workweek election and repeal regulations, changes to the meal period rules, […]

News Flash: New OSHA Recordkeeping Rules

In the eleventh hour of the Clinton administration, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a spate of new regulations. These include a new form replacing the OSHA 200 injury and illness log and new rules for recording workplace injuries. The new form and rules are scheduled to take effect next year. However, President […]

Bulletin Item: New ADA and Health Care Guides Available

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a practical new guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guide is geared toward small employers, but contains useful information regardless of employer size. Topics covered include: who is protected; avoiding mistakes during interviews; what questions you can ask about a medical condition; and more. For a […]