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Hope Dims for Transit Benefit Parity

Employers may not have to adjust their qualified transportation fringe benefit programs after all — at least not just yet. A legislative provision that would have affected QTFBs by boosting the mass transit exclusion to the same level as that for qualified parking — the so-called “mass transit parity” provision — did not make it […]

Short Takes: Reference Checks

We’re trying to set up our policy for doing reference checks on final applicants. Can you help us with some basic guidelines? What if the former employers won’t talk?  Job Descriptions in California: How To Tackle Tricky Drafting Hurdles Job descriptions can be your best friend or your worst enemy from both a practical and […]

Diversity: The Ends Don’t Necessarily Justify the Means; How Two Important New Supreme Court Rulings Affect Employers

Regardless of whether your workplace has a formal diversity policy, it’s often hard to determine how and when race can be used as a criterion for hiring decisions. Two major new U.S. Supreme Court decisions offer some guidance. Although the cases deal with university admissions rather than workplace hiring, the court set out standards for […]

Violent Employees: Risk Assessment Checklist

It’s important to understand the warning signs that a worker might be headed for violent behavior. Here’s a list of stress factors, cues, and signals that many psychologists believe may indicate potential for violent behavior in the workplace. Of course, just how significant any of these factors may be will depend on your situation:

Feb. 27 Audio Conference to Detail Requirements – and Risks – of the New E-Storage Rules

Revised court procedures, now in effect, may forever change your way of storing e-mails and other e-messages. A special BLR audio-conference will tell you how you’re impacted. In January, BLR presented an audio conference on important changes in federal employment law for 2007. It was one of our best received events. As it turns out, […]

Employment Law Tip: EEO-1 Deadline Nearing; Are You Ready?

If your company is required to file an annual EEO-1 Form with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), take note that the deadline is September 30, 2007. This year, employers must use the new and revamped version of the form (Standard Form 100, rev. 1/06). The EEO-1 report must be filed annually by employers with […]

Louisiana Governor Signs Firearms Law

Effective August 15, Louisiana will join a growing number of “red” states that have limited employer policies banning guns from the workplace. Under the new law (Senate Bill 51), employers may not prohibit employees from storing “lawfully possessed” firearms in their locked personally owned or leased vehicles while parked on company property. The new law […]

Exempt Employees: New Case Looks At Administrative Exemption From Overtime

Misclassifying an employee as exempt from overtime can cost employers potentially huge payouts of past overtime. Last year alone, the federal Department of Labor ordered employers to pay $134 million in back wages to misclassified employees. And that doesn’t count court judgments. Now a new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision may cause you to […]