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Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Protection Considered

By Stephen J. Stine The categories of persons entitled to legal protection under federal antidiscrimination law have remained the same for almost 20 years. The last major expansion of federal antidiscrimination protection occurred in 1990, when Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect individuals with an actual or perceived disability or a history […]

Woolsey Wants Higher Fines on Employers That Misclassify Workers

Companies that wrongly pay workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, strip workers of benefits and protections and put responsible employers at a competitive disadvantage, according to Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., who this week proposed increasing penalties on employers found to have misclassified workers. Woolsey’s bill, The Misclassification Prevention Act, (HR 3178) is the most […]

Feds Will Audit—Shouldn’t You Do It First?

Yesterday’s Advisor covered Kurt Ronn’s tips for identifying potential discrimination in process. Today we’ll see his tips for evaluating execution and take a look at an audit program you can use to find such problems before the feds do. Even the best process, if poorly executed, will yield questionable results, says Ronn, president and founder […]

Target-date Funds’ Popularity Heightens Transparency’s Importance

Nearly every defined contribution plan sponsor now offers target-date funds in its participant investment menu, as these funds, often named for the year a participant expects to retire, eliminate the need for employees to construct their own investment portfolio. A recently released white paper about TDFs examines plan fiduciaries’ uncertainly regarding what TDFs should contain […]

HR, the People Who Keep Me from Doing What I Want to Do

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition When people ask Hunter “Please Sue Me” Lott what he does for a living, he usually says he sells insurance.. “If I say, ‘I help companies stay out of court,’ they ask, ‘Are you a lawyer.’” “No, I’m HR,” I say. “That’s worse,” they say; “HR keeps me […]

Is Your Photocopier a Security Risk?

Your new copying machine may be keeping copies of records that have been scanned into the copier’s hard drive. You can’t access those records directly, but someone could remove the drive and copy your confidential records.

Tool of the Week: White-Collar Exemptions Report

Are you classifying your white-collar workers correctly? Are you sure? Getting it wrong can trigger costly penalties and fines. In our exclusive Special Report, “White-Collar Overtime Exemptions Are Revised–and Could Mean Higher OT Costs for You,” we explain what you need to know in light of the recent revisions to the FLSA. We also provide […]

Labor Law Under Obama or Romney–Employers Brace for Post-Election Changes

Eye on the Election Here’s the first in our series of “Eye on the Election” posts which are focused on helping employers prepare for post-election changes, no matter who is elected. For today’s topic of likely labor law and NLRB actions after the election we turned to Patricia M. Trainor, J.D., SPHR, BLR’s Senior Managing […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on February 8. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. hy some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of Blink: The Power […]

4 Ways To Curb Intermittent Leave Problems

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its California counterpart, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), allow workers to take time off each year to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. Employers have complained about certain aspects of the law for […]