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News Notes: Sex Harassment Complaints To EEOC Are Leveling Off

Data compiled by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate that sex harassment complaints received by the agency and its state counterparts have leveled off. Between 1992 and 1995, the number of complaints jumped from 10,532 per year to 15,549, and 15,836 charges were filed in 2000. The EEOC found no reasonable cause to believe […]

Supreme Court: Individual Settlement Offer Moots FLSA Collective Action Claim

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held April 16 that because an employee received an individual settlement offer that fully satisfied her Fair Labor Standard Act claims, her individual and collective action claims could not go forward. The Court said that after her employer made an “Offer of Judgment” for the full amount […]

Youth Workers: Stricter Child Labor Rules May Be on the Way

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 […]

Short Takes: Records Inspection

I understand that under California law, I have to allow current and former employees access to their personnel files and records that relate to the employee’s performance or to any grievance concerning the employee “at reasonable times and intervals.” But some of our employees are making a lot of requests. So what does “at reasonable […]

Race Discrimination: Posh Hotel Will Pay Over $1 Million For Replacing Minority Bellmen With “Cool Looking” White Workers

The Mondrian Hotel and its Sky Bar, a hangout for a hip Hollywood clientele, agreed to pay $1.08 million to settle a suit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a group of mostly minority bellmen who claimed they were fired because they looked “too ethnic.” The workers were allegedly replaced with […]

Tool of the Week: 21-Point Safe Terminations Checklist

Terminating an employee is one of the most unpleasant tasks an employer faces. And the fact that you also need to keep track of a complicated set of legal concerns only adds to the stress. Most employers are acutely aware that if you make a mistake, you could be facing an expensive employee lawsuit.

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News Notes: Mental Health Parity Rules Begin

A new federal law now in effect says that if you offer mental health benefits, they must have the same aggregate lifetime and annual limits as medical benefits. The law applies to employers with 50 or more employees. There’s an exemption for employerswho can show the parity requirements will increase their costsby more than 1%. […]

News Notes: U.S. Senators Back Plan For Mexican Guest Workers

In a recent meeting with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, a delegation of American senators led by Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) pledged to initiate a new guest worker program that would bring Mexican workers into the U.S. and effectively grant amnesty to as many as 7 million Mexicans currently working here illegally. According to Gramm, […]

OFCCP Finalizes “E-Cruiting” Rule

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces antidiscrimination and affirmative action requirements for federal contractors, has issued a final rule defining who qualifies as an “Internet Applicant” for purposes of employer recordkeeping. The OFCCP’s new rule is designed to clear the confusion surrounding how to determine who’s an applicant, in light of […]