Tag, you (employers) are it!

For those of you who remember playing the childhood game of Tag, you might feel like you’ve just been “tagged” under the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new “Plan/Prevent/Protect” strategy. This new strategy is outlined in DOL’s Spring 2010 Regulatory Agenda and seeks to place increased responsibility on employers to take steps to ensure [...]

EEOC sees spike in male sexual harassment claims

The most recent EEOC statistics show that the number of sexual harassment complaints by men is growing. In fiscal 2009, there were 2,094 harassment charges filed by men. Those claims made up over 16 percent (more than one of every six) of all sexual harassment claims handled by EEOC. The EEOC does not keep a [...]

DOL publishes answers about employee hours, pay reductions

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division has published a list of frequently asked questions about furloughs and other reductions in pay and hours. The beginning point under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is that employers are required to pay all non-exempt employees the full minimum wage and any overtime on the [...]

Employers being sued over inflexible leave policies

A number of cases are being brought across the country challenging employers’ inflexible leave policies, sometimes known as administrative separation policies, under which an employee is terminated for failure to return to work following a maximum period allowed for a leave of absence. Many employers have policies that if an employee is absent for leave [...]

Update on immigration issues for employers

1. E-Verify E-Verify, which had been scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2009, continues to be funded by Congress on a month-to-month basis. There seems to be a growing consensus in Congress to extend E-Verify in its current form for three years. As of this writing, no long-term resolution pertaining to the funding of E-Verify [...]