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News Notes: New Prevailing Wage Regulations

Prevailing wage laws are designed to protect local workers from seeing their pay decline due to government contracts going to the lowest bidders. They require contractors on public works projects to pay employees the region’s prevailing wage. Until now, the formula used to determine the prevailing wage generally turned out to be union scale, often […]

Time for Oregon employers to prepare for ‘ban the box’ law

Oregon’s new “ban the box” law takes effect January 1, meaning employers will be prohibited from asking applicants to check a box inquiring about criminal history on employment applications. The new law makes it unlawful to exclude an applicant from an initial interview solely because of a past criminal conviction. An applicant is unlawfully excluded […]

Family Leave: Can I Fire Someone on Family Leave?

Some issues have arisen with several of our employees who are out on leave—their jobs have been changed or eliminated, and one employee has done something that warrants termination. But someone told me that these workers are “protected” because they are on leave. Can we go ahead and fire them, or will we be slapped […]

Employers must comply with new HIPAA privacy and security regulations

by Gene Magee As if learning the ropes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) isn’t enough, employers offering health benefits to employees also need to gear up to comply with new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that go into effect later this year. This article provides an overview of where the new […]

Take Our Survey—Benefits: Perks & Insurance

A solid benefits package can be a great asset to a company wishing to attract top talent. What’s happening with benefits (including perks and insurance) in the real world? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out!

Editor of Texas Employment Law Letter Reflects on Letterman Saga

In the wake of the recent scandal involving late-night host David Letterman, Mike Maslanka, editor of Texas Employment Law Letter, provides advice on how to deal with the relationship dynamics between the top brass and their subordinates in his latest podcast. A top boss must never become romantically involved with a subordinate, says Maslanka. In […]

Ignoring the Basics Can Lead to HR Failures

In yesterday’s CED, we offered tips for managing the basics of HR legal issues. Today, the rest of the tips and an introduction to a California-specific resource for your employee handbook policies. Once again, a tip of the CED hat to attorneys John K. Skousen and Christopher J. Boman, partners at the Irvine office of employment law […]

Ever Been Arrested or Convicted? … Is It Discriminatory to Ask?

EEOC has released guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records in screening job candidates. Many employers do subject job candidates to criminal background checks to combat theft and fraud, and to avoid workplace violence. But the EEOC sees the possibility of discrimination. That’s because arrest and incarceration rates are particularly high for African […]

The Company Watchdog: Should It Be YOU?

Just My E-pinion By Stephen D. Bruce, Ph.D.Editor, HR Daily Advisor When egregious violations occur unchallenged, an HRDA editor asks, “Where was HR?” And he gives 6 practical tips to help you make sure you’re there when you are needed. In 20 years of editing Daily Advisor’s sister publication, the HR Manager’s Legal Reporter, I’ve […]