Tag: Mexico

A Lumpsum Payment Beats a Merit Increase Every Time

Rubino, who is founder and president of Rubino Consulting Services in Pound Ridge, New York, offered his suggestions at the 64th SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition, held recently in Atlanta, Georgia. Here are the rest of Rubino’s tips: [Go here for tips 1, 2, and 3.]                                   4. A Successful Plan Sets Total Compensation Integrated With […]

Bonuses Always Included in Overtime, Except …

The FLSA provides for several narrow exemptions from the requirement that bonuses be included in an employee’s regular rate of pay. The onus is on the employer to prove that a payment meets one of the exemption requirements. The exemptions include: Gifts, or payments in the nature of gifts, made at Christmas time or on […]

Hispanic Heritage Month 2008

Hispanic Heritage month starts today and runs through October 15. In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, which was observed during the week that included September 15 and 16. The observance was expanded in 1988 to a month-long celebration. Hispanic Heritage month celebrates the culture and traditions […]

Family and Medical Leave: Accompanying Ill Spouse to Funeral Doesn’t Qualify for Protected Leave, Court Rules

Arnulfo Gradilla worked as a sheet metal assembler at Riverside County-based Ruskin Manufacturing. When his father-in-law died, he received permission to take two or three days off work to accompany his invalid wife to the funeral in Mexico. Gradilla’s wife had a serious heart condition that was exacerbated by stress.

News Notes: Court Expands Coverage of Federal Anti-Bias Law

Soo Cheol Kang, a U.S. citizen of Korean national origin, sued his employer, U. Lim America Inc. for national origin discrimination and harassment under Title VII, the federal anti-bias law. The company argued that it wasn’t covered by Title VII because it only had six employees, rather than the statutory minimum of 15 employees. But […]

Immigrant Workers: Supreme Court Says Employers Can’t Be Ordered To Pay Back Wages To Illegal Workers; Practical Impact

When the National Labor Relations Board determines that a worker’s firing violated federal labor laws, it generally orders the employer to reinstate the worker and pay back wages. But what if the worker wasn’t legally permitted to work in the United States in the first place? The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that the NLRB […]

News Notes: U.S. Senators Back Plan For Mexican Guest Workers

In a recent meeting with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, a delegation of American senators led by Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) pledged to initiate a new guest worker program that would bring Mexican workers into the U.S. and effectively grant amnesty to as many as 7 million Mexicans currently working here illegally. According to Gramm, […]

News Flash: Employer Ordered Not To Relocate To Mexico

One day after employees voted to be represented by a union, Quadrtech Corp., which employs 118 minimum-wage jewelry assemblers at a Gardena factory, announced plans to move its operations to Mexico and lay off the workers. But a federal judge found that the timing of the move suggested it was an anti-union action and issued […]