Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor has just announced the launch of its first application for smartphones: a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users can track regular work hours, break time, and any overtime hours for one or more […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported that workplace discrimination complaints filed by employees in the private sector were up 4.5% in 2002, to the highest level in seven years. The types of bias complaints that saw the greatest increases were those based on religion (up 21% over 2001 figures), age (up 14.5%), and […]
Employers and plan administrators can have a better understanding of what a fiduciary is, courtesy of Phyllis C. Borzi, Department of Labor (DOL) assistant secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). She shed some light on the department’s thought process on this matter at the March 13 ERISA Advisory Council meeting. The DOL’s efforts […]
Californians, whose minimum wage just climbed to $7.50 an hour, aren’t the only ones seeing a boost in the minimum wage in the new year. During the November 7 elections held across the nation, voters in six states approved measures to raise their minimum wage rates. Ohio and Colorado voters approved increases to $6.85; Arizona […]
A California appeals court has ruled that a group of Hollywood screenwriters can proceed with 23 class action age-bias lawsuits against the major studios, television networks, talent agencies, and production companies. The lawsuits, filed by the Writers’ Guild of America, allege that the studios, networks, and production companies crafted a “youth-oriented corporate culture that indiscriminately […]
Among the employment-related bills recently signed by the governor is one requiring that employers with 50 or more employees conduct sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years. A.B. 1825 goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006, and now is the time to begin preparing.
Despite the prosperity of the late 1990s, the number of workers covered by employer-sponsored health care insurance did not grow. The Center for Studying Health System Change found about three-quarters of people under age 65 were covered by employer-sponsored health care in 2001, the same as in 1997. In 2001, 75.6 percent of workers had […]
The Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the Advertising Council, has launched a campaign to educate small and mid-sized employers about engaging in emergency preparedness efforts to protect their employees, business operations, and assets. The program includes a website, http://www.ready.gov, with extensive information on emergency planning, including a sample emergency plan, emergency supplies checklist, […]
There may be a tendency for your hiring managers, and even HR recruiting professionals, to take a more relaxed attitude toward the hiring process in view of the current state of the employment market and the fact that many people are out of work. Thinking that they have more time to make decisions, employment recruiters […]