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“FMLA was one of my favorite statutes when I was a plaintiffs’ lawyer,” says Attorney Tam Yelling. The law had a great intent, she adds, but it confuses employers. Yelling says that understanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is simple: Two sentences sum up what employers need to do. Of course, Yelling has […]
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 […]
Varying your techniques during refresher training will keep learners engaged. Here are a few suggestions on how to accomplish this: Do a demonstration (e.g., demonstrate the effectiveness of a steel-toed shoe by dropping a weight on it). Incorporate real-life accident or near-miss stories. Have learners pair off and do an activity, such as a joint […]
It’s no question that for most of us, what we do and where we do it are key elements of our identity. After all, if we’re working 40 hours per week, that means about half of our waking lives is spent working, and for many professionals, it’s much more—not to mention the amount of time […]
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 […]
Are all your employees accurately classified as exempt or nonexempt? Are you sure? The costs of misclassification can add up quickly, and the DOL estimates that nearly 70 percent of employers are not in compliance. You shouldn’t risk it. By learning how to conduct an internal payroll self-audit that evaluates your current policies and practices, […]
by Dan Oswald Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a new rule that requires anyone who makes less than $47,476 to receive overtime pay. When a colleague suggested I consider this topic for my blog, I was reluctant. I’m not an expert on wage and hour issues. We have many people much […]
While the record low unemployment rate continues to burden employers, who are struggling to find and retain talent, workers and candidates alike are using this opportunity to benefit themselves, according to a new survey released by TD Ameritrade.
By Alix Herber and Ian Campbell One of the hottest issues in Canadian employment law in the past two years has been overtime class-action claims. As we outlined in our October 7, 2008, entry, 2007 saw three overtime class-action lawsuits a $651 million class-action lawsuit filed against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), followed […]
I have a question about determining the exempt or nonexempt status of our lowest-level managers. We think they are exempt, but we’ve read about some pretty expensive lawsuits and want to avoid that. We classify these employees as exempt, and they seem happy enough with that designation. Most of them are eager to move up […]