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Obama takes steps toward requiring paid sick leave

by Tammy Binford Is it a sensible plan to boost productivity and give workers the help they deserve, or is it an unaffordable, unfair mandate on already overburdened employers? President Barack Obama’s announcement of a push to pass a paid sick leave law is likely to garner both reactions. Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to […]

Court Rejects Joint Employer Defense in Discrimination Case

A federal district court in Louisiana recently heard a case in which a governmental entity tried to assert that it wasn’t liable as a joint employer of the individual who had accused it of discrimination and retaliation. Read on to learn why the court sided with the employee and allowed the claims to proceed to […]

Companies Report Rise in Labor and Employment Class Actions

Aggressive regulatory action and an increase in workplace safety claims, including many related to the COVID-19 pandemic, have fueled a rise in labor and employment (L&E) collective claims, including “follow-on” class actions, according to Carlton Fields’ 2022 class action survey. 

Time to Review Unpaid Intern, Youth Hiring Rules

Summer is right around the corner and for employers that hire minors or use college students as unpaid interns, you should take the time to review your hiring practices to make sure they are in compliance with federal law.

Novant Health Settles ‘Excessive Fee’ Participant Suit for $32M

A hospital company accused of using participant funds to pay “excessive fees” for retirement plan administration services agreed to a $32 million class-action settlement and extensive adjustments in the way it selects and reviews the plan’s portfolio. As more participant suits are filed accusing defined contribution plans of overpaying for investment and administration services, it’s […]

Mayfield Ruling Highlights Overtime Exemption Pitfalls: What HR Needs to Know 

Understanding overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can be one of the more challenging responsibilities HR professionals face. The complexity of exempt classifications—particularly for executive, administrative, and professional employees—requires diligence, especially as roles and salary thresholds evolve. On September 11, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Mayfield v. U.S. Department […]

HR on the Move—What Are Best Practice Companies Doing?

Please participate in our brief Your HR Department Survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing.   We’ll publish the survey results in a future issue (or we’ll send them directly to you, if you prefer).   Do you “sit at the table”? What’s being outsourced? […]

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Avoid Qualifying Input

A surefire way to frustrate a manager is to provide qualified input. Qualifying input is a strategy instinctively used by many employees to avoid committing to a response as a safety measure in case they end up being wrong. However, it also makes employees seem unsure, indecisive, and even lazy.

Avoid These Common Workplace Investigation Mistakes

When it comes to workplace investigations, the whole process can be exhausting and time consuming. Nevertheless, diligence and thoroughness are still required during these investigations, to avoid costly mistakes and more problems down the road.