New Overtime Regulation Won’t Apply in Puerto Rico
By Kate McGovern Tornone, Editor The new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) salary threshold will not apply in Puerto Rico when it takes effect for the rest of the country this winter.
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News Notes: Employers Sued By Testers For Hiring Discrimination
Undercover testers-individuals who apply for jobs solely to scope out hiring bias-continue to cause trouble for some employers. The owner of five San Francisco McDonald’s franchises is the latest lawsuit target. Several African-American job seekers were allegedly told that no positions were available or were told to apply in a “ghetto” neighborhood. Others were flatly […]
Looking to 2012—Good News and Bad News on the HR Front
Get ready now for an aggressive NLRB; meanwhile, get your ADA house in order, say panelists at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (AEIS) in Nashville. Good news? It’s not too late to act. Under proposed NLRB rule changes, employers will have less of a chance to make their cases for staying union free, says Al […]
Low Cost Ways to Show Employees You Value Them
Of course you want to show your appreciation when employees out-perform expectations. A cash bonus? 401K profit sharing matches? Not in the budget this year. Learn inexpensive ways to thank your employees for their hard work and dedication with the free White Paper from HR Hero, Giving Thanks: How to Show Employees They’re #1 Without […]
More low-wage worker strikes are set for August 29
Fast-food and other low-wage workers who have staged strikes in a handful of cities around the country in recent months are planning to take their efforts nationwide on August 29. Strikers and their supporters are calling for $15 an hour as well as more protections for workers interested in unionizing. The latest wave of strikes […]
News Notes: Employer Can’t Offset Paid Lunch Break Against Overtime Pay
Michael Ballaris filed a class action lawsuit claiming that his employer, Wacker Siltronic Corp. in Oregon, improperly subtracted “paid lunch” time payments from weekly overtime compensation. Wacker claimed the deductions were permissible because it wasn’t required to pay employees for their lunch period in the first place. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, […]
OSHA Rules Flesh out Health Reform’s Whistleblower Provisions
Employers that retaliate against employees for reporting violations of certain health reform requirements could be subject to government investigations and hearings, as well as damages that include back pay awards and compensatory damages, under interim final rules issued Feb. 22 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The rules flesh out […]
Judge’s action sparks more uncertainty on Obama’s immigration orders
A temporary injunction against President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration is adding to the uncertainty surrounding immigration reform and its impact on employers. On Monday, a federal judge in Texas issued a temporary injunction blocking Obama’s orders issued last November that would have eased deportation concerns for millions of undocumented immigrants that have been […]
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act passes
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act passed its last congressional hurdle February 28 when the House voted 286-138 in favor of the Senate-approved version of the bill. President Barack Obama has promised to sign the measure. The original Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed in 1994. The most recent version expired in October 2011, and […]
Discrimination: Measure Would Eliminate EEO Suit Damages Caps
A new measure introduced in the U.S. Senate would remove existing caps on compensatory and punitive damages an individual can recover in an employment discrimination lawsuit. The new legislation, titled the Equal Remedies Act of 2007 and authored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is aimed at eliminating damages caps that were implemented a decade and […]