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The Obama Administration’s proposed 2013 budget includes funding to hire 92 additional Wage and Hour Division investigators. The budget would allocate $6.4 million to hire investigators to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, said Nancy Leppink, acting WHD administrator during a webchat on Monday. The funding would allow […]
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling handing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) a victory on how it can issue interpretations of its rules has major implications for employers, according to Judith E. Kramer, an attorney with Fortney & Scott, LLC, in Washington, D.C., and an editor of Federal Employment Law Insider. The Court’s March 9 […]
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has released a controversial new opinion suggesting that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects misconduct stemming from a disability as part and parcel of the disability itself. The case involved Stephanie Gambini, an employee of Total Renal Care, Inc, who suffered from bipolar disorder. Gambini […]
A new Massachusetts pay equity law going into effect on July 1, 2018, contains provisions that are much broader than current federal law and even prohibits employers from screening applicants based on their salary or wage history. Although the law doesn’t take effect for nearly two years, employers are advised to start planning immediately in […]
Where do Barack Obama and Mitt Romney stand on employment law and HR issues? Patricia Trainor, BLR’s Senior Managing Editor, Human Resources, was the featured guest on the November 1 broadcast of “The Proactive Employer” –a radio show hosted by Stephanie Thomas that features one-on-one discussions with leading policymakers and thought leaders—on how the presidential […]
BusinessWeek ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman. New York Times columnist Friedman offers an urgent plea to unleash U.S. creativity—and capitalism—on the challenges of energy, climate change, […]
Have you asked your doctor or dentist to see his fee schedule? When I did so once, a dentist refused, saying in effect: “my prices are higher, but that’s what you need to get my quality advantage.” What’s a consumer to do? A similar relation exists between large employers and institutional providers (hospitals.) The lack […]
by Mark Schorr, Erickson & Sederstrom P.C. Nebraska saw no significant changes as a result of its 2010 elections. All three Republicans in the U.S. House were reelected, with the closest margin of victory being a spread of 62 percent to 38 percent. Republican Governor Dave Heineman also was reelected with a resounding 78 percent […]
Here’s the third in our popular series of “Eye on the Election” posts which are focused on helping employers prepare for post-election changes, no matter who is elected. Eye on the Election For today’s topic—likely changes to health care reform after the election—we turned to BLR legal editor Jessica Webb-Ayer, J.D., editor of the Benefits […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that in 2007, its Wage and Hour Division recovered $220,613,703 in back wages, the highest amount ever, on behalf of 341,624 workers. These back-wage collections exceeded the previous record levels from 2003 by 3.8 percent. In addition, the division assessed over $10.3 million in penalties in 2007.