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Blowing Holes in Collective Agreements

by Emilie Paquin-Holmested and Dominique Monet The Supreme Court of Canada, in Québec (Procureur général) c. Syndicat de la fonction publique, recently struck down a clause in a collective agreement. The clause in question prevented certain employees from challenging discipline through grievance arbitration. The Court declared the clause void because it contravened a statutory minimum […]

Washington state latest to pass social media privacy law

Employers in Washington state should take note of a new law prohibiting them from requiring current or prospective employees to provide access to their social media accounts. Washington is the eighth state to pass such a law, and the National Conference of State Legislatures says 33 states are considering similar bills this year. The federal […]

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Reader’s Story: ‘Do I Really Need to Take the Drug Test?’

Drug tests are behind a number of strange but true workplace stories. A few years ago there was the wife who put marijuana in her husband’s meatballs instead of oregano to get him fired from his life-threatening job—he was a cop. And then, there was the man who asked his friend to shoot him to […]

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Signs Employees May Be Thinking About Quitting

Don’t you wish you knew before a good employee was ready to quit? Maybe then you could be proactive and take steps to try to reengage the employee and perhaps keep them on the team. Maybe you could get to the root of bigger problems before more employees decide to leave.

Was Truck Driver Owed Overtime under MCA Exemption?

By Arielle B. Sepulveda, JD The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—recently ruled that an employee who worked on both large trucks—the operation of which is exclusively regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)—and smaller vehicles was entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

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Companies’ Reduction in Employee Flexibility Is Misplaced

Companies vary greatly in their willingness to allow employees flexibility in their work, as well as in how that flexibility manifests itself—from working from home all the time, with unlimited paid time off (PTO), to flex work and the ability to work from home on certain days or on a certain number of days per […]

Vermont approves highest state minimum wage in country

by Sophie Zdatny On June 9, Governor Peter Shumlin signed House Bill 522 into law, making Vermont the first state to approve a minimum wage above the $10.10 goal set by President Barack Obama. As of January 1, 2015, Vermont’s minimum wage will rise to $9.15, from its current level at $7.25. The minimum wage […]

OFCCP updates guidance on gender identity and transgender discrimination

by Tammy Binford On August 19, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a new directive related to its decision to update its enforcement actions regarding gender identity and transgender discrimination. On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it would update its enforcement protocols and guidance to reflect that the […]

News Notes: Wage Violations Cost Taco Bell Millions

About 1,300 former Taco Bell workers have won a lawsuit in Oregon that charged that supervisors doctored employee time cards in order to meet productivity goals and earn bonuses. Taco Bell supervisors allegedly admitted that they were pressured by senior managers to shave hours off time cards. Paul Breed, an attorney for the workers, has […]