Employers are facing higher penalty amounts in 2025 for violations of several employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The information came in a final rule released by the Department of Labor (DOL) at the beginning of…
News
President Trump's anti-DEI initiatives have moved into the private sector. First up: Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, alleging the company’s DEI policy illegally favors women and people of color. According to the complaint, Starbucks…
This employer had a perfectly good reason to let an employee go – but was still unable to squelch a claim of unlawful gender discrimination. How is that possible, you ask? Let’s look at a ruling from a federal appeals…
You already understand the need to have new hire paperwork, such as Form I-9, in order. Now with the spotlight on illegal immigration, that has become more pressing. One of President Donald Trump's new executive orders, Protecting the American People…
President Trump made significant changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) when he returned to the White House. Here’s what happened – and what it means for HR. New EEOC Leadership As expected, President Trump fired Karla Gilbride, the…
What should you do if you mistakenly pay out too much for one of your employer-provided benefits, such as your retirement plan? Plan sponsors have had some uncertainty about that ever since 2022. That's when Congress passed the Secure 2.0…
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got its start on Day One of President Donald Trump's second term and met with immediate legal action. According to the executive order that established and implemented DOGE, the entity's purpose will be to…
A recent – and unanimous – U.S. Supreme Court ruling is good news for employers. The Court decided that employers are not required to meet a higher standard of proof to show that employees are exempt from certain pay provisions…
Some of your year-end health plan responsibilities have lifted, thanks to eleventh-hour legislation from Congress. Plan sponsors that meet certain conditions -- such as providing notification -- no longer need to send employees the Affordable Care Act (ACA) forms that…
After President Biden issued an executive order saying all federal departments and agencies would be closed on Jan. 9, 2025, employers wondered if the date would have the same impact as a federal holiday. Would banks be open -- or…
As an HR pro, you know that FLSA mistakes can be expensive. But even so, the sky-high cost of noncompliance found in the feds’ latest report is enough to cause sticker shock. Luckily, the report also sheds light on what…
The Third Circuit recently affirmed a jury verdict awarding more than $22 million in back wages to 11,780 employees at a Pennsylvania battery manufacturer. In a nutshell, here’s the lesson from this FLSA dispute: Employers must pay workers for actual…
While most of us were celebrating the holidays with family and friends, a legal drama stole the spotlight in Hollywood – and it’s far from over. As you might have heard by now, actress Blake Lively has taken legal action…
About a third of companies plan to follow Amazon’s lead and issue a return-to-office mandate that requires workers to be in the office five days a week in 2025, according to a recent report from Resume.org. But before your company…
Beware of auto pilot when issuing expense reimbursement checks to employees. Some, or all, of the money may technically be wages instead. Says who? The DOL. New guidance from the agency sheds light on a common scenario businesses face: Employees…
When you think about the latest overtime news, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the recent federal court decision that vacated the DOL’s salary threshold increases for exempt employees. And while that ruling was getting the lion’s…
