Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it intends to make big changes to child labor provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL has released a proposal that would strengthen existing youth employment regulations to protect against workplace hazards and expand certain youth workplace opportunities that have been judged safe and […]
The outcry against a new poster rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has resulted in the postponement of the rule’s implementation by more than two months. The NLRB issued a final rule in August requiring employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The original deadline to […]
Gov. Davis recently signed AB 276, which doubles the penalties for certain labor law violations, including the failure to pay wages.
The controversy over the use of mandatory arbitration for employment disputes continues as federal and state courts send contradictory signals to employers. While the California Supreme Court recently OK’d the use of mandatory arbitration, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that for some types of claims, such as age or race bias, […]
If you’re considering hiring minors to help out during the holiday season, be sure to double-check the rules. Toys ‘R’ Us has just agreed to pay $200,000 to settle Labor Department allegations that the toy retailer violated federal rules covering the employment of minors. The government charged that 14- and 15-year-olds were hired to work […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking comments on interim final rules that revise the regulations on whistleblower complaints filed under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The whistleblower protection provisions of SOX were amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to clarify that subsidiaries of publicly […]
By HRDA Editor Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Just My E-Pinion A recent question to the BLR® HR Forum about amnesty for illegal aliens generated an interesting set of responses, all well-reasoned, although not all agreeing. The question was: Just wondering what my HR colleagues think of granting mass amnesty to illegal aliens currently residing in […]
Under the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), group health plans must remind participants every three years that a privacy rights notice is available on request. For small health plans (those with $5 million or less in annual receipts), the three-year anniversary date is April 14, 2007. The anniversary date […]
A California appeal court has ruled that for purposes of determining whether an employer is liable for an employee’s occupational disease or cumulative trauma injury, the date of injury is when the employee first suffered either temporary or permanent disability—not when medical treatment was received. The ruling is important because, with work-related disease or cumulative […]
We reported on the new Cal-OSHA initiative to educate employers and employees on how to prevent heat-related illness. Employers and employees should also take the time to understand how to prevent another sun hazard that’s a problem year-round: too much exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays.