Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Many states, like Massachusetts, are “at-will” states, which means employers are free to terminate employees for any reason or no reason, with or without cause or advance notice. But there’s a critical exception to the employment-at-will rule: an employee may not be terminated for any reason that’s forbidden by law.
If Massachusetts’ new Equal Pay Act legislation is any indication, sweeping changes are coming, and the crux of forthcoming reforms will be determining comparable work and fair compensation. Companies can get a jump on this by defining and examining comparable work within their own organization to mitigate pay gaps and establish a fair work environment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) portal for accepting EEO-1 reports is open, but confusion still surrounds when and how employers are to include the newly required pay and hours-worked data.
We are often asked whether being an “at-will” employer means a company can terminate somebody for a discriminatory reason—for example, because she is a woman or a person of color. The answer is no. The at-will-employment doctrine does not protect employers from the consequences of discriminatory job actions. But the 2nd District Court of Appeal […]
On March 8, 2019, all 28 players on the women’s national team initiated a proposed class and collective action in federal court against the U.S. Soccer Federation. Their action alleged discrimination based on sex in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title […]
The Michigan Paid Sick Leave Act, which will require most employers with at least 50 employees to provide paid sick leave, is set to go into effect March 29.
It’s that time of year again when employers that want to hire recent college graduates and other professionals prepare to file H-1B visa petitions. Because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept petitions up to six months before the employee’s start date, and the first possible start date is the first day of the […]
Now that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a new rule affecting overtime eligibility—a rule that is more likely to be implemented than the department’s previous attempt—it’s time for employers to begin studying how they classify their employees so they’ll know whether pay raises or classification changes will be in order when a […]
For all their recent excellence and success, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors have developed something of a tedious routine. They seem to pull punches during the regular season, occasionally lose games that leave everyone scratching their heads, and go through stretches of apparently disinterested and uninspired basketball. Come play-off time, though, the engine revs and […]
In the past few months, I’ve spent every week, if not every day, updating or creating employee handbooks for businesses of all sizes. During that time, I’ve often found myself answering questions about bereavement leave. Most often, employers ask whether their state requires them to offer paid bereavement leave. When I answer their questions, I […]