Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By now, most people have probably heard about Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who became America’s newest so-called “folk hero” after he told off a difficult passenger, grabbed a beer, and exited a plane via the inflatable emergency chute. We decided to ask several employment law attorneys — all members of the Employers Counsel […]
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 […]
Labor Day has come and gone. Our summer vacations are over, and it’s almost time for things like the NFL (your company isn’t sponsoring a betting pool, is it?) and the fall TV season, including The Office. In advance of the new season, now might be a good time to review your HR policies and […]
After a 5-4 ruling delivered January 21 by the U.S. Supreme Court, corporations and labor unions will now be permitted to spend as much as they wish on independent activities in support or opposition of presidential and congressional candidates. The restrictions on campaign expenditures had been in place for decades. In Citizens United v. Federal […]
By Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson Organizations are headed for more crises. Tumult and disruption in the world are more than likely. Some would say they are unavoidable, inevitable, or even guaranteed. For most Human Resources professionals, this is a fact of life. In our experience, HR deserves credit for being watchful and wired, reassuringly […]
Employers could use auto-escalation as a way to encourage 401(k) participants to increase their contributions and reduce the number of employees missing out on matching contributions from the plan sponsor. That’s the finding by WorldatWork and the American Benefits Institute, which said that nearly a third of U.S. retirement plan sponsors they surveyed think more […]
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).
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 […]
Update: A ruling on the November 16 injunction hearing is expected on November 22. We will provide coverage on the ruling once it is issued. A federal district court has agreed to fast-track a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime regulation. The court has scheduled oral arguments for November 16, just […]
Public-sector employers in California are facing an array of challenges in 2012 — declining revenues, out-of-control costs, fading reserves, and “a slew of bills further hobbling public agencies’ ability to control costs,” according to Jonathan Holtzman, a partner with Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP in San Francisco. Here’s a look at some new laws affecting […]