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ACA play or pay: Employer Q&A

Employers making the decision to play or pay under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have a lot of questions right now because the mandate to provide insurance to full-time employees goes into effect January 2014. In a recent CER webinar, Ashley Gillihan explained some of the factors that employers should consider when making this decision. […]

EEOC releases fact sheet on selection and testing procedures

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws apply to employer tests and other selection procedures—such as personality tests, medical exams, and credit checks—used to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion. The fact sheet also spotlights “best practices” employers can follow to avoid […]

Child Labor and Overtime Problems Wilt Employer

Organic grocer Sunflower Market has agreed to pay $125,310 in back overtime wages to 78 workers at its stores in New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to resolve charges that the employer misapplied executive and administrative overtime exemptions. The DOL also fined Colorado-based Sunflower $10,670 […]

Workplace negativity–Don’t just say NO

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO Bob Brady is on vacation this week, so we’re offering one of his most popular columns that deals with a problem that most all HR managers face—negativity. A reader recently wrote to ask how to deal with “negativity,” specifically, employees who can see only the dark […]

Affinity groups: good for employees, good for business

When Tanuj Gupta joined AstraZeneca in 2006, he didn’t know many of his coworkers. “When I found out there were Employee Network Groups, I thought it was a great way to meet more people within the company,” says the executive director of external medical relations. And it was: “I met a fantastic group of people […]

Ninth Circuit Reinstates Male Worker’s Harassment Claim

A federal trial court in Nevada apparently couldn’t believe that a woman’s sexual overtures to a male coworker would ever be unwelcome and rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) attempt to file a harassment suit on his behalf. But in a recent decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Alaska, Arizona, […]

EEOC Vice-Chair: What’s Particularly Important for Employers?

  In yesterday’s Advisor, Leslie Silverman talked employers through changes at EEOC and OFCCP. Today, her tips for complying with the new ADA—ADAAA (ADA Amendments Act), which became effective January 1, 2009. Silverman, a partner at Proskauer, LLP, in Washington, D.C., and former vice chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), offered her take […]

SHRM 2011: Employees’ Friends and Family Can Land You in Hot Water, Too

Before terminating or taking any other adverse action against an employee, employers must consider not only whether the employee is in a protected category, but also whether the employee’s friends or family are, too. Lawsuits alleging discrimination or retaliation by association appear to be on the rise, an attorney warned attendees at the Society for Human Resource […]

Novartis Agrees to Pay Drug Reps $99 Million to Settle Long-standing Overtime Dispute

The New Jersey drug manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation has reached a $99 million settlement with its drug sales representatives. The agreement, announced jointly by management and plaintiff representatives Jan. 26, resolves overtime pay disputes pending since 2006. “We believe this settlement is in the best interest of our employees and the company,” said Novartis President […]