Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Legislation has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would create a tax credit for employers that offer comprehensive wellness programs. The Healthy Workforce Act (S.B. 1753), authored by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), would provide a tax credit of up to $200 per employee for the first 200 employees, and up […]
by Angelo D. Catalano, Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a broad federal law that establishes the federal minimum wage, overtime pay requirements, and a plethora of other compensation-related standards. The Act provides guidance on what is and is not compensable work time. One of the questions that continues to […]
Here’s a sample Internet policy you can modify and/or expand to meet your organization’s specific needs. Have your employees sign the policy, acknowledging they understand it and agree to be bound by its terms. [Company] Internet Policy Business use only. [Company] provides Internet access (including e-mail) to its employees to assist and facilitate business […]
Regardless of whether your workplace has a formal diversity policy, it’s often hard to determine how and when race can be used as a criterion for hiring decisions. Two major new U.S. Supreme Court decisions offer some guidance. Although the cases deal with university admissions rather than workplace hiring, the court set out standards for […]
IBM has agreed to pay $65 million to settle a class action lawsuit charging the computer firm with misclassifying employees as exempt from overtime. In particular, the suit alleges, IBM incorrectly classified technical services professionals and information technology specialists as exempt, even though those positions don’t qualify for exemption under California or federal wage and […]
Effective August 15, Louisiana will join a growing number of “red” states that have limited employer policies banning guns from the workplace. Under the new law (Senate Bill 51), employers may not prohibit employees from storing “lawfully possessed” firearms in their locked personally owned or leased vehicles while parked on company property. The new law […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has collected its rules, guidance and other materials on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act into a new MHPAEA Web page. The materials on this page include a new set of frequently asked questions on “understanding implementation” of MHPAEA, which when enacted in 2008 substantially beefed up HIPAA’s […]
Recent changes to affirmative action program rules permit government contractors to organize plans based around their functional or business units, rather than based solely on an establishment’s location. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has now issued guidelines for contractor requests to submit a “functional” affirmative action plan, or FAAP, including whether the functional […]
By James M. Leva, JD, Day Pitney LLP A New Jersey federal court recently dismissed a disabled employee’s state-law contract claim, holding that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempted it.