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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 […]

Penalties Increase for Certain Immigration Violations

Employers, beware: You will soon face increased monetary penalties if you violate certain immigration laws. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Attorney General have issued a rule that adjusts for inflation the civil monetary penalties they assess or enforce under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This is the first increase in the […]

Recruiting Workers: Sample Anti-Raiding Agreement

Our accompanying story looks at the issues raised when a former employee lures away existing workers. Having employees sign an “anti-raiding agreement” is one way to deal with this problem. In general, these contracts are more likely to be upheld by a court if they’re for a limited period of time, such as one year. […]

U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Decision on Decades-Old Maternity Leave

In a May 18, 2009, decision, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether women who took maternity leave decades ago (before discrimination based on pregnancy became illegal) can sue to have their pregnancy leave time count toward their pensions. The Court reversed the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling and held that […]

Bureau of Labor Statistics releases November 2010 Unemployment Numbers

Regional and state unemployment rates changed little from the previous month, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The November 2010 data shows 22 states recording increased unemployment rates, while 15 report decreases, and 14 report no change. The jobless rate nationwide decreased by 0.2 percent between October and November. However, the current rate of 9.8% […]

California Equal Pay Act expansion takes effect January 1

by Cathleen S. Yonahara Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP California’s equal pay law will provide protections for race and ethnicity as well as gender as of January 1, 2017. Since 1949, California law has prohibited gender-based wage discrimination, and in 2015, that protection was expanded to require equal pay for men and women who perform […]

Write Fed-Friendly Job Descriptions

How should you go about writing your job descriptions? Consider this four-step process from the fed’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN)—likely to pass muster during any agency inspection. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN’s program consists of the following steps: Step 1: Perform a Job Analysis […]

EBSA Proposes Change to MEWA Form 5500 Reporting Requirements

Employers and plan administrators with multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) that had not been required to file a Form 5500 for their MEWA may have to if  a proposal by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is adopted. EBSA on Dec. 6 published a proposed revision to Section 2520 of the […]