Author: Dan Oswald

My holiday wish for you

by Dan Oswald As 2014 winds to an end, it’s good to reflect on all you have accomplished this past year. Think back across the last 12 months and consider all you have done both personally and professionally. Consider the goals you set for yourself that you have crossed off the list. Examine the work […]

Proposed West Virginia regulations spell change to wage and hour landscape

by Rodney Bean The West Virginia Division of Labor (DOL) has proposed emergency regulations that, if enforced in their present form, could force West Virginia employers to change by December 31 a number of common wage and hour practices that comply with long-standing federal regulations. Although the state DOL’s emergency rules purport to adopt vast […]

New OSHA reporting requirement takes effect January 1

by Judith E. Kramer A new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring employers to notify the agency when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye goes into effect on January 1 for workplaces under OSHA’s jurisdiction. The rule also updates […]

Compliance framework is proposed for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

by Thora Sigurdson In June 2014, the Canadian government introduced changes to the country’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). These changes were intended to make it more difficult and expensive for Canadian employers to hire temporary foreign workers (TFWs), thereby encouraging employers to search within Canadian borders to staff their workforce. While the changes to […]

Guidance for HR when racial tension spreads from streets to workplace

As protests rage around the country following recent grand jury decisions in Missouri and New York not to indict police officers involved in the deaths of two unarmed black men, employers may find tension spilling into the workplace. In November, a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of […]

Alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and the workplace―navigating legal risks

By Holly K. Jones Q We administer a voluntary leave program through which workers can donate paid leave to their colleagues to obtain necessary medical treatment. Recently an employee asked to use the program to seek substance abuse treatment for alcoholism. This isn’t the type of treatment we had in mind when we established the […]

What does the immigration executive action mean for employers?

by Christine D. Mehfoud Whether the president’s recent series of immigration-related executive actions will survive potential legal challenges and congressional action remains to be seen. For now, set aside your political views (while I love a good political debate, this space is for practical business implications), and let’s focus on how the executive actions will […]

Return-to-work woes: EEOC challenges medical release requests under ADA, GINA

by Geoffrey D. Rieder In a lawsuit filed in September, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges that a Minnesota-based power company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) by requiring an employee returning from medical leave to execute overbroad medical release forms for a fitness-for-duty medical examination. […]

WFH

EEOC brings first lawsuits alleging transgender discrimination

by Arielle B. Sepulveda On September 25, 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed two lawsuits, the first actions by the agency in which it has alleged that discharging an employee because she is transgender constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and therefore violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. […]

NLRB says employees may use company computers for organizing activity

In perhaps one of its boldest moves, on December 11, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned existing precedent and held that employees have the right to use their employer’s e-mail system for Section 7 concerted activity, including union-organizing activities, during nonbusiness hours. The decision obviously affects employers’ policies on employee e-mail use. As background, the […]