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Are You Clear on This Week’s Minimum Wage Changes, Exemptions, Independent Contractors?

Wage and hour questions should be simple, but every comp manager knows they’re not. What to do … especially when you have to depend on low-level supervisors to manage things? First, let’s finish explaining the minimum wage change, then talk about how to keep comp in compliance. In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered states affected by […]

HOT LIST: BusinessWeek’s Bestseller List

BusinessWeek ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets […]

From the ADA to returning soldiers to work: Richard Pimentel’s crusade for the disabled

From the ADA to returning soldiers to work Earlier this month, the country celebrated it’s 232rd birthday. We celebrated with fireworks, picnics, and parades to honor our veterans who have fought in wars past and the soldiers who are currently abroad fighting for our country. This month also marks the 18th anniversary of the Americans […]

Babson College proves it takes diversity seriously

As of last year, Babson College in Newton, Massachusetts, had two diversity managers, an assistant dean charged with increasing campus-wide inclusion, and a few HR professionals focused on diversity. But the college’s senior leaders decided that wasn’t enough. In March, they appointed Elizabeth Thornton to be Babson’s first chief diversity officer (CDO). “The senior leadership […]

The path to diversity: through a computer?

Could software solve your diversity problems? The National Science Foundation thinks so. The federal agency awarded a $450,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant to the Boulder, Colorado, tech firm OptTek Systems, which plans to build a software application that can improve an organization’s ability to strategically plan and manage its workforce. Issues such as limited […]

Wal-Mart to pay $300,000 to rejected applicant to settle disability discrimination lawsuit

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., had agreed to pay $300,000 to a Hardin, Missouri, man to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. In addition, Wal-Mart agreed to provide training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to managers at its Richmond store, notify job applicants about the settlement, and […]

Americans with Disabilities Act: Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), guaranteeing equal opportunity for people with disabilities in public accommodations, commercial facilities, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. Here are some statistics about America’s disabled population from the U.S. Census Bureau: There are 41.3 million […]

‘Willful’ Violations under FMLA Clarified

by Alyssa Yatsko Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee has two years from the date of an FMLA violation to file a lawsuit against his employer. If the violation was “willful,” however, the employee has three years to file the lawsuit. Up until now, the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals […]

Can You Help Us Rewrite Our Dress Code?

We’re in the process of rewriting our employee handbook, and we want to modify our employee appearance policy. What do we need to consider? We want our employees to look professional, but we don’t want to get caught in a lawsuit. — Ronald W., San Jose