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Attorneys Warn of Most Common Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Errors

To avoid FLSA trouble, be careful of misclassifying employees, making improper deductions, denying breaks, and allowing nonexempts to work “off the clock.” Dell Computers built its success on operating numerous call centers, where customers could phone in and buy their systems direct from the manufacturer. Now the way Dell runs those centers is under attack. […]

Hiring Independent Contractors: New Case Says Contractor’s Employees Can’t Sue You For On-The-Job Injuries, But Caution Still Required

If an employee of a contractor you’ve hired gets injured on the job, the person can seek workers’ comp benefits from the contractor. But can the worker also come after you with a lawsuit for damages—arguing that you put them at risk by not ensuring that the contractor was competent to perform the work? The […]

President Obama Announces NLRB Nominations

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a White House press release issued Friday, April 24, 2009. Congress created the NLRB in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the principal law that governs relations between labor unions, employers, […]

Employment Law Tip: Get Ready to Post Cal-OSHA 300A Form

Beginning February 1 and through April 30, 2006, you’re required to post the Cal-OSHA Form 300A annual summary log of injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005. Even if you had no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2005, you must still post a summary with zeros in the total line. This posting requirement applies to […]

News Notes: Employees Win Big Damages for Meal Period Violations

If employees are free to do what they wish during a lunch or other meal break, the general rule is you don’t have to pay them for that time. But what if they’re required to remain on company premises? In two recent cases, employees who weren’t permitted to leave during meal periods have won big […]

News Notes: Court Rules You Can Correct Family Leave Mistakes

A court has decided that an employer who granted federal family leave to someone who wasn’t qualified to take it can later correct its mistake, despite a government regulation that says otherwise. The employer in the case had told a pregnant worker, Susan Seaman, that she was entitled to family leave, but it turned out […]

More Emergency Closing Challenges—and an HR and Comp Managers’ “Multi-Tool” to Get You Through

In the last Advisor, we considered compensation challenges related to emergency closings. Today: Related hassles and the problem solver thousands of HR pros use to help them through it. In an emergency closure, ordinary procedures are usually disrupted. Here are key processes you need to have in place to keep things going: Notification Notification is […]

Affirmative Action: Government Clarifies New Federal Contractor Audit Rules

If you contract with the federal government to sell or buy goods or services, you may be covered by detailed affirmative action and non-discrimination rules that are enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). If so, you’re required to retain a broad array of employment records, and the OFCCP can audit your […]