Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Robert C. Nagle Employers can expect increased enforcement efforts from federal and state labor and tax authorities over what’s believed to be a rising tide of misclassification of employees as “independent contractors.” There can be significant payroll savings associated with classifying workers as contractors. For example, employers typically aren’t required to withhold or pay […]
“FMLA was one of my favorite statutes when I was a plaintiffs’ lawyer,” says attorney Tam Yelling. The law had a great intent, she adds, but it confuses employers.
The feds estimate that 70 percent of employers are not in compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). “That’s a gross understatement,” says William J. Anthony, Esq. He suspects that it’s more like 95 percent that are not in compliance with either federal or state laws on wage and hour matters.
by Julie K. Athey The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a new “administrative interpretation” (AI) that clarifies the circumstances in which an employee may take leave to care for a child for whom they act as a parent but aren’t legally recognized as such. As has been pointed out in numerous press reports […]
Adding momentum to federal agencies’ ongoing initiatives to crack down on employee misclassification, the U.S. House and Senate have introduced legislation intended to curtail the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, introduced April 22, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to impose additional compliance and record-keeping requirements on […]
Early Tuesday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) resumed its ongoing series of agency Web chats with a brief session hosted by Patricia Shiu, the director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The OFCCP enforces the civil rights of both federal contractor employees as well as applicants for federal contractor jobs. […]
Throughout this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will host a series of live Web chats to discuss the regulatory agendas of the various federal agencies. The chats, which will run through Wednesday, will include details of the proposed regulatory activities of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration […]
As we all know, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. Employers are allowed to define the 12-month period any way they wish — much like they are entitled to define the seven-day period that comprises a workweek […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has fired a loud warning shot to employers in its ongoing effort to increase federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enforcement. In a news release late last year, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis first unveiled plans for a proposed program to work with […]
Under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), any employer who offers group health coverage to employees must provide notice to those employees of state health insurance premium assistance for dependents that employees may be eligible for. This notice must be provided by the later of (1) the first day of […]