Day: March 6, 2012

Untangling Questions About Bereavement Leave

Employers have many issues to consider when writing employee leave policies. Questions such as, “How will time accrue?” “When do employees become eligible for leave?” and “Under what circumstances should employees be paid when on leave?” barely scratch the surface. But when the issue is bereavement leave, employers may feel they have more at stake […]

DOL Fact Sheet: Tips Belong to the Employee

Tips are the property of the employee, whether or not that employee has taken a tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act. So states Labor Department Fact Sheet #15A, released by the Wage and Hour Division in February. The fact sheet reflects tip credit regulations DOL updated in May 2011. Under the regulation, an […]

‘I’ve Got a Cold–I’m Taking FMLA’

Does a serious cold qualify as a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? How about the flu? Leave of absence laws were established to protect employees with serious health conditions; do colds and the flu measure up? Generally, unless complications arise, the common cold, the flu, earaches, upset stomach, and […]

Attorney Offers Tips for Staying Compliant with DOL’s Wage and Hour Priorities

As the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division steps up enforcement initiatives,  the need for employers to monitor their wage and hour practices is growing. Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2012 Employment Law and Legislative Conference March 5, Tammy McCutchen of Littler Mendelson in Washington, a former Bush appointee at DOL, […]

What OFCCP Now Demands for Affirmative Action

Desmond, who is a partner in the New Orleans office of national employment law firm Jackson Lewis, made her comments at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas. About Goals and Achievement Under OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) rules, where the company’s representation of protected class members is significantly lower […]

OFCCP Demands Detailed Compensation Analysis in Virtually

Remember, says Desmond, who is a partner in the New Orleans office of national employment law firm Jackson Lewis, OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) does not enforce a law but an executive order. So, if you don’t want to do business with the government, you don’t have to comply. Desmond’s comments came at […]

HHS Touts the Progress of No More Limits Under Health Care Reform

Approximately 105 million Americans now have health coverage without lifetime limits on benefits — including 95 million individuals with employer-sponsored health coverage — due to health care reform requirements, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans renewing on or after […]

Be “sure” before classifying a worker as an independent contractor

Never base a worker classification decision on uncertainty, according to attorney Christine Walters. Walters, a Maryland HR consultant presenting at the Society for Human Resource Management’s legislative conference in Washington, D.C., March 5,  ticked off the many reasons employers might be inclined to classify a worker as an independent contractor. Among them: to avoid paying […]

Common-sense Steps Can Reduce Privacy Risks From Mobile Devices

The proliferation of mobile devices has blurred the line between employer and employee information, and created new threats to sensitive data that are all too well chronicled. But common-sense steps can still be taken to minimize these risks without stifling the usefulness of these new tools, two data privacy and security experts said in a […]