HR Specialist: Employment Law
- New year brings new state employment laws.
- Dismiss racist taunts at your peril.(From the Courts)
- No, you can't deny accommodation over aesthetics.
- How discrimination beliefs are driving resistance to DEI initiatives.(In The News...)
- New NLRB union-solicitation rules favor employers.
- Beware retaliation against activist employees.
- Prepare for a spike in lawsuits claiming unsafe working conditions.
- Su--DOL's current #2--nominated to become secretary of labor.
- NLRB: Bathroom chat isn't protected activity.
- Is it OK to disable online comments to silence pro-union messages?
- Big ideas in the Big Easy: Attend the Summit in October.
- Want to make sure discipline sticks? Track and document details of incidents.
- Review prior complaints before terminating.
- HR dilemma: Managing COVID 'long-haulers'.
- Your handbook could get you sued.
- A great way to thwart hiring-bias lawsuits: Retain all your notes from interviews.
- How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could impact employers.(In The News...)
- No, you can't require a blanket ban on certain meds.
- What counts as retaliation? Heed new DOL guide.
- Handling work mistakes during FMLA.
- Accommodating staff with anxiety disorders.(Disability Spotlight)
- Indefinite leave not considered a reasonable accommodation.(From the Courts)
- Be alert for COVID-related negligence liability.
- Any stereotypes of workers--even positive ones--can spark discrimination lawsuits.
- DOJ develops whistleblower program for immigration violations.(In The News...)
- Report: Wage-and-hour cases to 'explode' in 2021.
- Handbook mistakes: Dodge the 'dirty dozen'.
- What employers should (and should not) do when employees go on strike.
- New injury data signals key risk areas HR can't afford to ignore.
- How to protect your company's data when letting go of a remote employee.
- DHS warns to check permit changes.
- Tim Mailhag.
- Win lawsuits by documenting consistent, equitable interview process.(In The News...)
- New EEOC guidance clarifies when COVID is (and isn't) an ADA-qualifying disability.
- The Mailbag: FFCRA leave.
- Beware assigning nonexempt tasks to exempt employees.
- OSHA to increase recordkeeping obligations.
- Require HR to OK all religious accommodations.
- When offering severance agreement, pay up promptly.(Legal Briefs)
- How to document employee infractions: 4 'musts' to include.
- Overrule a hiring committee? Document the reason why.
- Omnibus budget bill highlights.
- To avoid liability, document your COVID efforts.
- Worksite enforcement ramps up.
- Training gaps after layoffs spark mistakes.(In The News...)
- Scheduling the holidays: How to keep the peace.
- Q&A: Alcohol, drugs and the ADA.
- The Mailbag.
- The HR I.Q. Test.
- Document all casual, interim staff check-ins.
- While you investigate misconduct, should employee suspensions be paid or unpaid?
- OSHA raising the bar on COVID safety rules.
- Off-duty COVID behavior: What you can & cannot legally require from workers.
- Handbook hitches: The good and the bad of 4 HR policies.
- DOL's new overtime rule clears another hurdle.
- Warn younger bosses about ageist remarks.
- Flu season and COVID: Know the rules on leave, pay.
- Teen harassment? Avoid a PR nightmare.
- To make training stick, follow the 3 E's.
- Penalties for FLSA and FMLA raised for 2022.
- Before firing, offer a legit chance to improve.
- Overtime threshold to rise to $35,568 at start of 2020.
- The employer gets to choose: 4 methods to calculate 'FMLA year'.
- House OKs $15 minimum wage, Senate is unlikely.
- Heed local scheduling laws; give enough advance notice.
- Betting on a bonus? Not if you wagered on who'd get COVID.
- 'A wake-up call on employee benefits': COVID is driving more interest in open-enrollment.
- Filling out a new I-9? Check expiration date.
- Train bosses to avoid disability bias in hiring.
- Internal investigations: Get them right or pay the price.
- Plan ahead to apply PIPs consistently, fairly.
- China's Sanctions and Rule of Law: How to Respond When China Targets Lawyers.
- Can attendance be an 'essential' job function?
- Understanding the new W-4 form & online tools.
- Be wary of bias against childless employees.
- A $118 million lesson in gender-equity pay.
- The Mailbag.
- Which safety measures do employees really want?
- How to plan for succession without triggering age-bias lawsuits.
- Kids remote learning again? Offer FFCRA leave.
- In The News....
- Requiring staff to get COVID vaccine is legal, court rules.
- Weigh pros and cons before requiring unvaccinated to pay more for insurance.
- No changes to the W-4 this year, but likely in 2020.
- Prepare your policy for a proliferation of pandemic puppies.
- Extended leave for disabled spouse? Maybe.
- The cost of denying pregnancy leave: $146k.
- Leave & accommodation are top reasons for COVID suits.
- Poor health doesn't excuse poor performance.
- FLSA risk: Exempt 'manager' does all work.
- 1-9 document bias: Lessons from the Gap case.
- Employee volunteer time isn't compensable, DOL clarifies.
- Part two of #MeToo: Backlash may open the door to more lawsuits by men.
- Encourage witnesses to report harassment.
- Workplace drug tests: Marijuana positivity rates spike.
- EEOC claims diversity plan discriminates? Get ready to write a big check.
- The Mailbag.
- The Mailbag.
- Legal Briefs.
- Don't assume mentally ill employee is dangerous.(Legal Briefs)
- Limited duty is 'reasonable' even if worker doesn't like it.
- Women still being asked inappropriate interview questions.(In The News...)
- Hiring managers: Be blind to applicant's child care duties.(Legal Briefs)
- In The News ...
- No need to pay for commuting time, but pay attention to 'first stop' rule.
- EEOC allows employees to choose nonbinary label.
- Prepare for FTC, states to ban noncompete agreements.(In the Spotlight)
- $4.35 million lesson: You must ensure the safety of teenage workers.
- The Mailbag: Employee Leave.
- Training tool How to manage grieving employees.
- Wage lawsuits fall, but still near historical highs.
- The mandate lawsuit: Roadblock or just a speed bump?
- Require vaccinated staff to mask up, stay apart.
- Got remote interns? Know the pay laws & best practices.
- COVID puts new focus on your benefits: 5 smart tips for this open enrollment season.
- The Mailbag.
- Coronavirus could actually cut employer health costs.
- Lesson from the Facebook 'suck it' case: tweak your confidentiality agreement.
- Age-bias alert: 'OK, boomer!' is not OK in the workplace.
- The post-COVID return to work: 3 strategies to ease the transition.
- Remind managers: No health-cost comments.
- Workers still on site? About 1 in 5 earning hazard pay.
- Independent contractors: New DOL guidance invokes old classification standard.(In The News...)
- Retaliation nation: Manage adverse actions to lessen retaliation.
- Applicant tests must be directly related to job.
- How to save millions even if you lose in court: Good-faith investigation can prevent huge punitive damages.
- Fed contractors: Start using new disability form.
- Upcoming DOL rules to address contractor issues.
- Remind bosses: Don't make presumptions (or comments) about alcohol treatment.
- COVID raises the risk of new forms of 'association discrimination'.
- COVID anxiety: What if workers don't want to return?
- DOL: Certain school-related absences are FMLA-protected.
- Coronavirus and the ADA: 6 key answers.
- Recruit broadly to ensure a diverse applicant pool.
- 'Young boy' age bias: No federal protection.
- Your best practice for beating bias lawsuits: Keep accurate records of all HR decisions.
- Back pain is common, but not always disability.
- Ensure teen employees understand anti-harassment protections.
- Obey state & local wage-and-hour laws in addition to the federal FLSA.
- New COVID law adds more flexibility to flex funds.
- ICE extends remote I-9 inspections until June 1.
- In The News ...
- Fired for getting married: Does that count as sex discrimination?
- Heed OSHA safety rules on tired, sick drivers.
- Less qualified hires = a higher lawsuit risk.
- Employers supportive of vax mandate, but concerned.
- Keep paper versions of electronic job applications?(The Mailbag)
- Prepare for the end of virtual I-9 verification.
- Commuting distance: A new route to hiring discrimination?
- When is nepotism a form of unlawful job bias?
- Draft your executive contingency plan.
- Politics at work? Women & young workers say it's OK.
- A divided Congress: What's the impact on employment law?
- Without FMLA notice, no FMLA leave required.
- Prior service counts toward FMLA eligibility.
- Supervisors: Avoid stereotypes in discipline.
- Growing legal risk: Failing to post job openings.
- FFCRA leave expires, but Biden aims to bring it back.
- DOL welcomes questions and expands opinion letters.(In The News...)
- $300k: the cost of filthy bathrooms and blocked exits.
- $200k lesson: Don't dock pay, assuming no-work lunch break.
- Allowing 'bro culture' to grow can trigger lawsuit.
- The Mailbag.
- Start making DACA contingency plans now.
- Supervisor's name-calling is enough for a lawsuit.
- Be sure to also document who you didn't hire.
- 390,000 good reasons to open official-looking mail.
- Due to COVID, some firms detach pay from performance.
- Impact of #MeToo felt in workplace: Harassment complaints, lawsuits on the rise.
- How to avoid being set up for an FMLA lawsuit.
- Countering anti-DEI backlash: Employers assert First Amendment defense of diversity programs.(HR & Culture Wars)
- WHAT I WOULDN'T DO: Legal Updates from HR's Trenches: No go: Attempts to blame sexual harassment on plaintiff backfire.
- California & New York: first states to ban hair bias.
- Illegal immigrants can sue for unpaid overtime.
- Should we tell employees they might qualify for FMLA?(The Mailbag)
- The HR I.Q. Test.
- OSHA limits COVID rules to health workplaces.
- Intermittent leave abuse? Demand new cert.
- 'Invisible' disabilities: The ADA also covers ailments that are temporary, periodic.
- The HR I.Q. Test.
- EEOC finding novel ways to drive industry change.
- Avoid constant questions about workers' retirement.
- WHAT I WOULDN'T DO: Legal Updates from HR's Trenches: As workplaces reopen, beware the whistleblower.
- Racism isn't just about words: a $1.2M lesson.
- Make sure your discipline policy has the ability for quick-trigger terminations.
- Are unpaid internships a thing of the past?
- The HR I.Q. Test.
- Class-action risk: Comply now with PUMP Act.
- People rarely appeal denied insurance claims.
- Comply with new laws affecting pregnant workers, nursing moms.
- 'Don't say pay' policy violates federal labor law.
- Set limits on remote worker moonlighting.
- Remote workers want real rewards, not virtual perks.
- The case against perfect-attendance awards.
- If family member is 'high risk,' must you accommodate?
- In The News...
- The wage-and-hour risks of rounding time.
- Customer preference can't be reason for bias.
- OK not to pay for travel time to voluntary OT shift.
- How to discipline your employees even after their 'protected' activity.