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Family Leave: We’re a Small Company—Are We Covered by FMLA?

We are a small California business with 14 employees. We are not supposed to be subject to FMLA, but our lawyer says we are. This is because we have FMLA eligibility information included in our handbook. But the eligibility clause clearly states that “employees who work at a location where the Company employs fewer than […]

New Illinois Law Prohibits Use of Credit History in Hiring Decisions

by Steve Brenneman Effective January 1, 2011, Illinois employers will have yet another restriction on their ability to make employment decisions. A new law will prohibit many employers from basing hiring, promotion, and other employment decisions on an employee or job applicant’s credit history. The Employee Credit Privacy Act (HB 4658), which was signed into […]

Health Care Reform Provisions Employers Need to Worry About

Have you been pulling your hair out for the past several months trying to determine what health care reform means for your organization? This article will provide you with a good starting point by outlining many of the major provisions of the health care reform package (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the […]

Vote for Your Favorite Law Blog

The American Bar Association (ABA) Journal is once again holding an election to pick the most popular law blogs — blawgs — in the land. And the nominees include four by members of the Employers Counsel Network (ECN), a group of law firms in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada that advise and represent […]

FLSA Recordkeeping: Create, Maintain and Preserve

DOL commonly finds recordkeeping violations when it investigates an employer’s wage and hour practices. The most frequent violations of the FLSA’s recordkeeping rules fall into two categories: (1) creating and maintaining the proper records; and (2) preserving those records. Creating and Maintaining the Proper Records The FLSA does not require that records be kept in […]

Employees Can’t Sue for Unpaid Vacation Before It’s Earned

By now, most employers have at least heard that California prohibits “use it or lose it” vacation policies—meaning that once an employee earns vacation time, that time can’t be forfeited for any reason. But can an employer decide not to award vacation time right away to new employees? The answer is yes—according to a recent […]

Ruling on Reformation Opens More Adjustments of Plan Terms

A federal appeals court agreed with a retirement plan plaintiff that he did not have to show “actual harm” to seek a retirement plan reformation after alleged inadequate communication about a change in his former employer’s defined benefit plan. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Geoffrey Osberg and other plaintiffs in Osberg […]

News Notes: Employer Must Consider Reassigning Disabled Employee To Positions At Equivalent Pay Level

A recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals helps clarify which positions disabled employees must be considered for when they can’t perform their present job. Rodney McLean was a postal clerk until his physical condition prevented him from performing his duties. Although he identified many vacant positions at the same pay level […]

HHS Touts the Progress of No More Limits Under Health Care Reform

Approximately 105 million Americans now have health coverage without lifetime limits on benefits — including 95 million individuals with employer-sponsored health coverage — due to health care reform requirements, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans renewing on or after […]