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Political Talk Heats Up the Workplace

As the race for the White House sees the Republican and Democratic candidates heading to their national conventions, political tension is making its way from the campaign trail into the office. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, three in 10 employers (30%) and nearly one in five employees (17%) have argued with a coworker over […]

Exempt vs. Non-Exempt: California Supreme Court Verdict on Overtime

In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court has unanimously held that California-based employers must pay overtime to certain nonresident employees who spend time working full days or weeks in the state – and that the failure to do so can provide the basis for a claim under the state unfair competition law (Sullivan v. […]

New Bill Would Require DOL to Follow its Own Rules

A newly introduced bill would require the U.S. Department of Labor to follow a rule it wants to impose on federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is in the final stages of a rulemaking that would require federal contractors to aim to have workers with disabilities make up 7 percent of their […]

At EEOC’s Request, 7th Circuit May Reconsider ‘Reassignment’ Case

A federal appellate court may reconsider its views on “reassignment” as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act, at the request of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC takes the position that the ADA requires employers to reassign employees, whose disability prevents them from performing their current job, to a vacant position […]

Sometimes You’ve Gotta Use the “F” Word

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR A recent Wall Street Journal article—“A Four-Letter Word Schools Won’t Use”—intrigued me, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. The Journal article said that colleges absolutely refuse to use the “F” word. Yes, it’s true. Schools avoid using the word “FIRE” at […]

Are We Seeing the End of Lunch?

Workplace stress is causing a continuous … and many think unhealthy … decline in time off taken for lunch. Here’s what one government agency employer is doing about it. “What’s for lunch?” That’s a question millions of workers are NOT asking these days, according to trend studies conducted over the past few years. The studies […]

Theft: Can We Deduct the Cost of a Loss from the Whole Team?

We have agreed to operate on a team basis in our organization. We share workload, bonuses, etc. Now we’ve got a problem. We think someone on the team has stolen something from the office, but no one will admit to the theft. May we deduct a certain amount from each employee’s check to cover the […]

Flights Aboard Company Jet Could Be ‘Taxable Transportation’

Employers that own corporate jets and pay a management company to fly them  were not pleased by a recent IRS memo on tax treatment of such arrangements, and two private aviation trade associations have been working with IRS on relief. Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 20120026 , although not binding (see note at end of this […]

DOL Rule Would Authorize More Wage-and-Hour Scrutiny on HHAs

An industry that’s no stranger to government scrutiny and suspicion has the promise of more oversight … and costs. DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently proposed expanding the reach of its minimum-wage and overtime requirements to cover more home health care and other home care workers – the folks who work with the elderly […]