Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Customer Preference vs. Religious Garb and Grooming

In yesterday’s Advisor we presented several key questions and answers from EEOC’s new guidance on religious discrimination. Today, more from the guidance, plus we announce a free webcast on building a WOW! Recognition program. [Find more questions and answers here] Can an employer exclude someone from a position because of discriminatory customer preference? No. If […]

Shutdowns, Furloughs and Weather Delays—Wage/Hour Minefields

Business Shutdowns and Furloughs It should be no surprise that many employers have sought creative work arrangements in order to weather bleak times without resorting to morale-killing layoffs. Furloughs, temporary shutdowns, and reduced-hour schedules are common workplace solutions. However, the intricacies of the FLSA make these solutions tricky. The salary basis test is not satisfied […]

Retroactivity for Same-gender Spouses Goes Back to June 2013

IRS on April 4 said rules that do not distinguish between same- and opposite-gender married couples in tax and federal retirement plan provisions will be in effect retroactive to June 26, 2013. This date is when the U.S. Supreme Court held in U.S. v. Windsor, S. Ct. 2675 (2013) that the lack of recognition of […]

EEOC Issues Helpful (!) Guidance on Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued helpful guidance on how federal employment discrimination law applies to religious dress and grooming practices. Here are highlights of the guidance. In most instances, federal law requires employers to make exceptions to their usual rules or preferences to permit applicants and employees to observe religious dress […]

Expat Tips—Prepare for Dual-Career Couples and Trailing Spouses

By Anthony Di Bratto As companies continue to expand globally and as international trade and production become both easier and more cost-effective, more and more companies are sending their employees abroad. These employees, known as expatriates or “expats,” are employees from the home country who are transferred to work in a host (foreign) country. This […]

Need Videos for Your Chemical Safety Training?

If you’re looking for a new method of training your employees on chemical safety, you may want to tap into their fondness for YouTube videos and reality TV. A 3-DVD set of 31 safety videos produced by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is available free of charge at CSB’s website. CSB is charged with […]

How Do Job Descriptions Relate to the ADA?

Effective job descriptions are important. Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is important. But how are the two tied together? Does the ADA place specific requirements on job description contents? The technical answer to that question is no, the ADA does not impose specific requirements on the job description. But the longer answer […]

Danger Zone—Deductions from Salaried Employees’ Pay

Generally, payment on a salaried basis means that employees receive a predetermined amount of pay that can’t be reduced due to variations in the quality or quantity of their work. Employees must be paid their full salary for any week in which they: bzc cb Perform any work, regardless of the number of hours or […]

Law Eliminates Reform Caps on Small-business Deductibles

Congress removed health care reform’s $2,000/$4,000 deductible limits as part of the annual Medicare physician payment bill that President Obama signed on April 1. Section 213 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 removes deductible limits for small-business health insurance policies from the reform law. Under the original law, small employer health plans […]

Training Programs—What’s Happening in the Real World?

Everyone knows how important training is, but finding the time and budget is another story. So what’s happening in the real world? What are your competitors up to? What are best practices? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing for training stacks up against what […]