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A new bill would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees just as they do for those with disabilities. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, S. 3565, is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act and borrows some of its language. In the same way that ADA requires accommodations for workers with disabilities, it […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we saw survey results for planned increases by company location and employee level. Today, increases by company size and industry, plus an introduction to BLR’s popular Job Descriptions Encyclopedia. BLR’s 2012 Pay Budget Survey was conducted in June 2011. A total of 1637 organizations participated. Here are the rest of the results: […]
By David Slaughter, JD, Senior Legal Editor The month of July saw two hospitals reach multimillion-dollar Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security settlements with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each case began with that most mundane of data breaches, the stolen laptop, but once HHS investigators started […]
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 […]
Bernard Lopez was an employee of Applied Technology Associates (ATA), which provided contract computer services for the Navy. Lopez sued the Navy, charging that it violated the disability accommodation requirements of the Rehabilitation Act, which is similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act, when it turned down ATA’s request for a handicap parking permit for […]
A multi-year investigation by the United States Department of Labor into violations of wage and hour laws by New Jersey gas stations has found “consistent and widespread noncompliance,” according to agency officials. The investment action recovered more than $1 million in back wages for 295 workers. In an agency statement, DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis […]
Wellness is well worth it, says Ron Keen, co-founder and President of PureWellness. That becomes easy to understand when you appreciate that lifestyle is the single largest factor in health, he says. If your entity is typical, Keen says, probably about 20 percent of your employees have diseases or medical problems that are not preventable. […]
The pharmaceutical industry made its case to the U.S. Supreme Court April 16 that pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) are “outside salesmen” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and thus are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements. A lot is at stake in the Court’s upcoming decision, since requiring overtime pay for PSRs could impose billions […]
On July 31, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order “to promote economy and efficiency in procurement by contracting with responsible sources who comply with labor laws.” The order will apply to new government contracts worth more than $500,000, and according to a White House fact sheet, it will be “implemented on new contracts in […]
In a Nov. 8 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the U.S. Congress may require all individuals to get health coverage (the individual mandate). A circuit-court split on whether the individual mandate stands or falls makes it more likely the Supreme Court will […]