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by Debbie Clephane There are three areas of immigration policy that will most certainly be at the forefront of President Barack Obama’s immigration agenda: (1) enhanced border security, (2) a refocus on employer responsibility, and (3) passage of comprehensive immigration reform. This article provides a glimpse of what we can expect from the new administration. […]
Two years ago, when President Obama gave his State of the Union address, he challenged employers and educators to double the number of apprenticeships offered by 2019. They listened. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports that, since the 2014 State of the Union address, the United States has experienced “the largest growth in apprenticeships […]
In the January issue of California Employer Advisor, we reported on Brinkley v. Public Storage, Inc., which held that employers are required merely to provide employees with meal and rest periods, not ensure that employees actually take them (CEA online subscribers can read more on the case here).
Throughout this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will host a series of live Web chats to discuss the regulatory agendas of the various federal agencies. The chats, which will run through Wednesday, will include details of the proposed regulatory activities of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration […]
Congress has proposed a bill that would provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year to qualifying workers for the birth or adoption of a new child, the serious illness of an immediate family member, a worker’s own medical condition, and/or for specific military caregiving and leave purposes. The Family and Medical Insurance […]
Employers paid more than $400 million to resolve discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal 2012, according to data released by the agency Jan. 28. Among private-sector workers, retaliation, race and sex discrimination, respectively, were the most common discrimination charges. Other highlights from the EEOC’s fiscal 2012 statistical summary: 99,412 […]
The largest single settlement Cal/ OSHA ever collected—$462,000—was for a work-related fire. In 1999, Tosco Refining Co. was cited for 33 alleged violations of state workplace safety regulations as a result of a fatal fire at its Avon plant near Martinez. Thankfully, most workplaces won’t experience such tragedies, but even so, OSHA reports that workplace […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at DOL’s checklist for wellness program compliance. Today, the “paragraph (f)” criteria, plus an introduction to the wellness program guide that boosts the ROI of your program. If you want to institute a wellness program that discriminates based on a health factor (for example, rewards people who have low cholesterol […]
John Blackstock, an apprentice electrician with Rick’s Electric Inc., a San Diego electrical contractor, was seriously hurt when he received a 227-volt shock while working on electrical cables. Foreman Glen Woodmansee believed the cables weren’t energized, but didn’t check before assigning Blackstock to the project. Plus, Blackstock hadn’t been trained to work on live equipment. […]