Archives

EEOC Slows Enforcement, But Makes Headway on Backlog

Preliminary data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) shows that in Fiscal Year 2016, it filed fewer lawsuits and resolved fewer claims outside of court than it has in recent years, despite an increase in charges filed. Employers also paid less monetary relief.

healthcare

Court Considers EEOC Claims that Wellness Program Was Involuntary, Employee Fired for Nonparticipation

In EEOC v. Orion Energy Systems, Inc., a federal district court considered a challenge to an employer’s wellness incentive program. As explained in part 1 of this article, the court rejected the company’s contention that the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) safe harbor for benefits administration should apply.

Time to prepare for new EEO-1 reporting requirements

by Billy Hammel The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that employers with 100 or more employees must include employee pay data in their EEO-1 reports beginning in March 2018. The EEOC says it will use the data to combat “wage gaps” based on race, ethnicity, or sex.  What must be reported? Employers with […]

Want Visionary Leaders? Traditional Development Isn’t Enough

Every organization wants to fill its ranks with the best leaders possible in order to stay competitive. However, recent research suggests that formal leadership training—by itself—is not sufficient to equip business leaders with the skills they need to be successful.

hiring

How ‘Matchmaking’ Brought in a New Classification of Worker

by Tami Simon, JD, managing director, Xerox HR Services A matchmakers’ business model centers on making connections. In the days of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the connection was made by an old woman named Yenta. Today, many matchmaking sites promote “uniquely designed” computer programs that promise to find a person’s perfect match (e.g., match.com, zoosk, […]

Time for federal contractors to meet new paid leave requirements

by H. Juanita M. Beecher Contractors entering into federal contracts on or after January 1, 2017, must comply with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new regulations requiring them to provide workers 56 hours of paid sick leave a year. The regulations implement President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13706, which was issued on September 7, […]

Baseball purists

“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” -H.L. Mencken This post may not be the usual finger-wagging scold you may have come to expect from an employment lawyer. I’m confident, though, that this blog’s audience of fellow practitioners and human resource professionals will take a little solace in it. After all, it’s no […]

Puzder nomination could be the end of overtime rules

The president-elect’s nomination of Andy Puzder for secretary of labor may very well be the final nail in the coffin for the new overtime rules. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, has been an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama’s employment initiatives for years. Several of those efforts, especially the overtime rules, are dead given Puzder’s […]