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Feds at the Door: What To Do … and Not Do
One result of the current business downturn is increased employee complaints about unfair compensation or other discrimination. As it takes just one complaint, justified or not, to trigger a probe. That means getting ready for a visit from your friendly DOL investigators. Here’s how to handle things if (or these days, when) they show up. […]
Chicago City Council raises minimum wage
by Steven L. Brenneman With a mayoral election looming and opponents challenging him from the left, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel pushed through a Chicago ordinance that will gradually increase the minimum wage to $13 per hour by 2019. Currently, the state minimum wage is $8.25 per hour. The new Chicago ordinance, passed December 2, establishes […]
Unions: NLRB Says Employers Can Restrict Use of Company Email for Union Purposes
In an important development, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled 3-2 that an employer didn’t violate federal labor relations law by maintaining a policy that barred employees from using the employer’s email system for union activities and other non-job-related solicitations. Join us this fall in San Francisco for the California Employment Law Update […]
News Notes: Government Issues Guidance On Whcra Annual Notice
The Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services have issued guidelines explaining how to comply with the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act’s annual notice requirement. The notice explains that mastectomy-related services must be covered under health plans. It can be sent alone or with the summary plan description, a newsletter, […]
News Flash: Important New Wage And Hour Developments
The Industrial Welfare Commission has adopted several important new rules that will have a significant impact on California employers. One big change requires you to pay employees for an additional hour if they work through a break or meal period. The story also outlines the IWC’s new requirements for adopting and repealing alternative workweeks to […]
Census Bureau Finds Decline In Wages
E-Alert Item: DOL Says Insurance Adjusters Not Entitled to Overtime Pay
The federal Department of Labor has said in a recent opinion letter, which was issued in response to an insurance industry group’s inquiry, that adjusters qualify for the administrative exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The opinion reaffirms the DOL’s position on this issue, and was based on the DOL’s review of […]
News Notes: Government Expanding Use Of Undercover Testers
Federal agencies responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws are stepping up their use of ‘testers’-individuals who act as job applicants for the sole purpose of scoping out whether your hiring practices are legal. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is now utilizing outside vendors to conduct the testing. And the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the […]
U.S. Supreme Court Issues Important Retaliation Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court has just released a ruling in the case of Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, concluding that Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision extends to an employee who speaks out about discrimination while answering questions during an employer’s internal investigation.