Day: December 29, 2011

Can’t Beet a Garden Party

Litigation Value: Zilch. An episode blissfully free of employment law problems! Tonight’s episode — the last of 2011 — brings up a reprise of “The Garden Party,” previously blogged by my colleague Brian Kurtz. Most of the action takes place outside of the usual office setting, at Dwight’s bucolic beet farm/budding party venue. In an effort […]

What Will 2012’s Biggest Wage-Related Issue Be?

“Paying to market” and “Four years of freezes” are the biggest issues for many respondents to a recent survey conducted by the HRhero division of BLR last December. Other responses to the question, What do you think your organization’s biggest wage-related issue will be at the end of 2012? included: A sad one: “We’re just […]

Another Boon for Wellness Benefits: Revealing Employees’ Unanticipated Disease Risks

Employers — and employees — may find wellness benefits an even more welcome offering, a recent study suggests. A Quest Diagnostics study found that more than 1 out of 3 employees who took employer-sponsored lab-based wellness tests were unaware they were at high risk for a serious medical condition. The study, Value of Laboratory Tests […]

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 […]

‘Unique Interactive Process’ for ADA Key to Appeasing EEOC

EEOC is coming after anyone not using a unique interactive process, says attorney Stacie Caraway. They want to see one-on-one engagement. Caraway, of counsel with Miller & Martin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined Dinita James, partner with Ford & Harrison in Phoeniz, Arizona, and moderator Charles Plumb, a partner with McAfee and Taft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, […]

White Collar Exemptions = Legal Gray Areas

Yesterday, we gave you the background on a recent court case involving the classification of social workers as exempt. Today, the court’s rationale for concluding that the workers should have been getting overtime pay.