Tag: news

DOL Announces ‘Bridge to Justice’ Attorney Referral System

It may soon be easier for employees to find private legal representation after the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) declines to pursue their Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims. This is thanks to a new collaboration between the WHD and the American Bar […]

Coming Soon: OSHA Vs. New House Majority on Enforcement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) agenda to increase enforcement, which includes items such as ergonomics, noise standards, and an injury and illness prevention program, seems destined to run into resistance from the new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s fairly clear that changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act […]

Good and Bad News in 2011 Compensation Survey Results

There’s good news and bad news to be found in the results of HRHero.com’s 2011 Compensation Survey. The good news is that last year 32 percent of respondents said they were going to have a wage freeze in 2010, but this year only 21 percent say they are planning to have a wage freeze in the […]

Supreme Court Agrees to Review Massive Discrimination Case Against Wal-Mart

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review what has been called the largest employment class action in U.S. history — Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes. The class of plaintiffs is estimated to include approximately 1.5 million former and current female Wal-Mart employees seeking monetary relief that could amount to billions of dollars in back pay. […]

3 ECN Member Blogs Nominated for ABA Blawg 100

Three blogs written by members of the Employers Counsel Network have been nominated for the American Bar Association Journal’s annual Blawg 100 competition. For the fourth year in a row, That’s What She Said, a blog written by attorneys at Ford & Harrison LLP, has been selected as one of the 100 best law blogs […]

EEOC Announces Record Year of Charges, Employee Relief

After years of budget constraints left the thinly staffed agency struggling under a hefty workload, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has bounced back, causing headaches for many employers. During the 2010 fiscal year, which ended September 30, the EEOC received a record number of charges — nearly 100,000, the most in the agency’s 45-year […]

Paycheck Fairness Act Meets Its Demise

The much-hyped Paycheck Fairness Act has been shut down and is unlikely to be revived any time soon. The PFA (S. 182; H.R. 11) was initially introduced in 2008 as a companion to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The bill, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2009, needed 60 votes […]

Arizona Voters Approve Medical Marijuana

By Dinita L. James, Gonzalez Law, LLC By a slim margin, Arizona has become the 15th state in the nation to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Proposition 203, or the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, trailed by about 6,000 votes in early election night returns. Yet, after 10 days of counting early voter […]

EEOC Issues Final GINA Regulations

By Adria Martinelli and Julie Athey After several delays, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued final regulations that interpret and implement the nondiscrimination requirements of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). For the most part, the final regulations don’t differ substantially from the ones proposed by the agency nearly two years ago. However, […]

NLRB Backs Employee’s Right to Bad-Mouth Supervisor on Facebook

by Jonathan Sterling and James Goodfellow An employer’s blogging and social networking policy that prohibits employees from posting disparaging comments online about coworkers or their employer has been deemed unlawful by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB recently issued a complaint and notice of hearing against American Medical Response of Connecticut (AMR), an […]