Can you ask employees to work during FMLA leave? Better be careful
If you’ve got an employee who takes FMLA leave, you may have to check in with him or her occasionally. But be careful not to cross this line.
Hours of Work
Election Day: Be careful about state time-off laws
There are no federal regs requiring employers to give workers time off to vote. But your state laws may well do so. Are your managers prepared to shuffle staff to cover Nov. 2?
FLSA: Calculating overtime when travel time is involved
Do you know how to calculate overtime pay for this employee without running afoul of the FLSA? Here’s the scenario: You pay a non-exempt employee who travels a lot on the job one rate for in-office work and another, reduced rate for when he’s merely on the road traveling and not doing normal work. Calculating […]
How could this happen? Appeals court says blatant sex bias is OK under Title VII
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reluctantly affirmed a lower court’s decision to reject sex bias claims filed by female detention officers who – unlike their male counterparts — were not allowed full weekends off. The case involved nine female detention service officers at the Dallas County Sheriff’s […]
Keys to an effective — and legal — employee handbook
Companies change. Their size changes. Their businesses change and get updated. Then shouldn’t their employee handbooks change and get updated? You can do it, and even get help doing it, without breaking the bank.
Maybe March Madness isn't such a great morale-builder after all
Every year at this time, scores of employers lose countless hours of work time and obscene amounts of money because of a little thing called March Madness, the start of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But this year, employers are a little less likely to take the usual “Well, what can we do?” approach.
Members of Congress support four-day workweek bill
Despite other countries around the world adopting the four-day workweek, the idea seems like a pipedream for most American workers. But a handful of members of Congress are hoping to change that. In an effort led by Rep. Mark Takano (CA-D) and backed by thirteen other Democratic congressmen, a new bill aims to reduce standard […]
Next on Feds' agenda: Working Families Flexibility Act
There’s good employee-benefit legislation, and there’s bad employee-benefit legislation. You can make the call on this one.
Question: At our company, we have quite a few employees who have trouble disconnecting from work after hours. How can we encourage them to do so?
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Reminder: The states are looking at your pay practices, too
Just a reminder: It’s not just the feds who are on the lookout for wage and hour violators — it’s state authorities, too.
Staying compliant during natural disasters: Pay, leave questions answered
The arrival of Hurricane Dorian — and the dreaded aftermath — has a lot of employers wondering about HR challenges that come along with natural disasters. FLSA and FMLA compliance is a big concern at times like this, and employment lawyer Kara Maciel answered some common questions HR pros have when disaster strikes. Wage and […]
Union to pay $1.65M for race discrimination settlement — and the case goes on
A labor union and its apprenticeship program will pay $1.65 million to settle part of a race discrimination suit that was first filed in 1971 — and will continue.
Using forms and templates saves small HR shops’ time and sanity
As a one- or two-person shop wearing multiple hats in addition to HR — payroll and workplace safety are probably under your wing as well — protecting your time is a constant challenge. That includes not reinventing the wheel when it comes to the hundreds of forms you work with during a year. The good […]
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