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by Judith E. Kramer The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a final rule requiring that any entity that enters into a contract with the department make good-faith efforts to include minorities and women in its workforce. The new rule goes into effect April 21. The requirement grows out of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which states […]
by Matthew Jacobson Changes to the Maine minimum wage law taking effect January 1 mean that the minimum wage for tipped workers will continue to be $5 an hour instead of rising $1 an hour like the minimum wage for workers who don’t receive tips. Maine voters approved Question 4 on the 2016 ballot. The […]
Over the past several years, many employers have been blindsided by big class action lawsuits from employees who say they were misclassified as exempt from overtime and are owed millions in back pay. Farmers Insurance Exchange, Big Lots, and Electronics Boutique are just a few of the businesses hit by the suits. For a brief […]
The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan on May 3. 1.The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. The sequel to #1 best-selling Liar’s Poker examines the issue of who understood the risk inherent in the assumption […]
The federal government lowered the rates used by employers to calculate how much to add to the taxable wages of employees who use a corporate jet for non-business use, for the first half of 2015. The rates — known as the standard industry fare level, or SIFL rates — get an inflation adjustment every six […]
An employee who claimed her boss sexually harassed her was awarded nearly $400,000 in damages—but the supervisor, not the employer, will have to pay the tab. Maria Kaul worked for a short time as a secretary for Orion Systems, Inc., in Santa Clara. She claimed her boss, Morton Kessler, repeatedly commented on her clothing, kissed […]
By Michael P. Maslanka Editor’s note: Fall is here, and for a lot of die-hard fans, that means just one thing — it’s football season. But the first three weeks of this football season were marred by a referee lockout that meant a lot of bad calls and missed penalties by the replacements. Many commentators […]
The agency responsible for enforcing the Americans with Disabilities has revised several of its guidance documents to reflect recent changes to the law. The May 15 changes were necessary because of the ADA Amendments Act, which expanded the law’s coverage in 2009, the U.S said in a press release. The documents explain how ADA applies […]
by Mark I. Schickman In the movie Anchorman, Ron Burgundy is a toothy, handsome news anchor who leads a San Diego news station that is simply too sexist to believe. It seemed cartoonish—until now, when we meet San Diego’s toothy, handsome mayor who allegedly is a more out-of-control sexist than Ron Burgundy on his worst […]
by Richard Rainey As the holidays approach, we’ll gather with loved ones and hopefully have a chance to reflect on what we’re thankful for in our personal lives. In keeping with that tradition, we’ve given some thought to what we, as employment lawyers who represent businesses, are most thankful for when it comes to our […]