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NLRB to review Northwestern University football ruling

On April 24, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it will review a regional director’s decision that Northwestern University’s scholarship football players are employees who are eligible to unionize. The Board’s announcement came one day before a secret-ballot election, which will go on as scheduled. The NLRB said the ballots will be impounded […]

Workplace Discrimination: An Effective Way to Prevent It

With terrorism has come increasing discrimination. Here’s a way to prevent it in your workplace. Since the horrors of five Septembers ago, Americans have lived in a charged atmosphere about race and religion. Despite long-standing ideals of tolerance, the actions of a violent few are often blamed on all the members of certain races or […]

Survey Says: Train Employees to Protect Company Data

  Almost one-third (31 percent) of U.S. employees are concerned about losing data at work, but many engage in activities that put company files at risk anyway. And more than one-third of those surveyed at companies with 101 to 500 employees admitted to engaging in risky behaviors when it comes to company data, according to […]

News Notes: Judge Slashes Huge Verdict Against Wonder Bread

A San Francisco judge has dramatically sliced a recent jury award of over $131 million to African-American workers who were discriminated againstby their employer, Interstate Bakeries Corp. Calling the verdict against the maker of Wonder Bread excessive, the judge reduced the original award, which included compensation for lost wages and pain and suffering, together with […]

Minneapolis employers must prepare for new paid sick leave law

by Dennis Merley In a unanimous vote, the Minneapolis City Council has passed a paid sick and safe leave ordinance that is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2017. The ordinance covers all employers with one or more employees, but employers with fewer than six employees must provide only unpaid sick and safe leave. […]

A School Is Also a Workplace

In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the focus has been on the students—so much so that several news commentators have incorrectly referred to the deceased as “the 17 students who died in the shooting.” Among the 17 people who lost their lives were three adults, who […]

Oregon employers need to prepare for minimum wage increases

by Joanna Perini-Abbott With the Oregon Legislature’s passage of a minimum wage increase and the governor’s expected signature, employers need to be ready for a three-tiered minimum wage system. Under the terms of Senate Bill 1532, an employer’s location will affect the wages it must pay employees. Employers in the Portland metropolitan area urban growth […]

Reformed Benefit Summary Will Make Comparison Shopping Easier, Regulators Claim

The summary of benefits and coverage (SBC), while still a work in process, will improve plan participants’ ability to comparison-shop for coverage. That fills a currently unmet need, federal regulators told a recent conference. They were responding to concerns that the SBC — mandated by the health reform law — is redundant, confusing or even […]

In the Company of Gleeks

Litigation Value: Likely no liability against Sabre/Dunder Mifflin, but Gabe could have some property damage claims against Michael and Andy Only two more weeks until new episodes of The Office return, and I’m eager to find how the writers will wrap up Michael Scott’s career. Quick question for you Officeheads out there: How do you think they […]

Back Pay Damages Include Overtime in FMLA Retaliation Claim, Courts Rule

Employers should be aware that back pay sometimes can entail more than base compensation. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals provided that reminder through its recent holding that overtime compensation may be included in an award of back pay. The case is Pagán-Colón v. Walgreens of San Patricio, Inc., Nos. 11-1089, 11-1091 (1st Cir. […]