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The final vote hasn’t come yet, but on December 3, the D.C. Council unanimously voted to raise the minimum wage in Washington, D.C., to $11.50 per hour by 2016, well above the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Before the measure is finalized, the council must hold a final vote and send it to Mayor Vincent C. […]
by Richard R. Voelbel Minnesota’s new “ban the box” law takes effect January 1, meaning private employers will be prohibited from inquiring about a job candidate’s criminal background until after the candidate has been selected for an interview or has received a conditional offer of employment. Public employers already have been prohibited from including a […]
In addition to the 51 percent listed above, 35 percent of surveyed executives at companies that are facing a skills shortage acknowledge that they have not made a big enough investment in training in the past. The “Accenture 2013 Skills and Employment Trends Survey: Perspectives on Training” (www.accenture.com/SkillsGap) confirmed that the skills gap remains a […]
Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) overcame a large hurdle when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld its provisions (including the individual mandate) last year, the Court announced today that it would take another look at the law. This time, it will be reviewing another one of the law’s controversial mandates—the contraceptive mandate. Under the ACA, […]
On November 19, 2013, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national association for the construction industry, filed a request for an injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) final rule affecting federal government contractors, including construction contractors. […]
Periodic refresher training is required by many Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards as well as by some employment laws. And even when it isn’t, refresher training is essential for keeping skills sharp and preventing a dangerous sense of complacency. Varying your techniques during refresher training will keep learners engaged. The most effective and cost-efficient […]
Meeting the needs of overnight guests is big business in the United States. According to the American Hotel and Motel Association (AHMA), lodging is a $134 billion industry. In most U.S. states it is the first- second-, or third-largest employer. Overall, the sector employs about 1.8 million people. Employees who clean guest rooms, serve meals, […]
“Wherever OSHA standards require that employee training be conducted ‘at least annually,’ OSHA interprets that to mean that employees must be provided retraining at least once every 12 months (i.e., within a time period not exceeding 365 days),” says David Galt, managing editor—safety, with BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (www.blr.com). This annual training need not be […]
by Paul M. Saito Governor Neil Abercrombie has signed into law the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013, which defines marriage in Hawaii as between “individuals without regard to gender.” Hawaii is the 15th state to give same-sex couples the right to marry. The law goes into effect December 2. A special session of the […]
Audience response systems engage learners in training and provide trainers with instant feedback that they can use to enhance the learning experience, says Ron Smrek, vice president of Sales/Corporate Government with Turning Technologies (www.TurningTechnologies.com). When using an audience response system, trainers can poll learners, for example, about demographic information, their knowledge of a particular topic, […]