Thursday May 9, 2024

Laws banning salary history on the rise: Is your company affected?

Even though a federal bill aimed at preventing employers from asking job applicants to provide a salary history appears to have stalled, many finance departments may still avoid salary history questions. Reason: An increasing number of states and cities are passing their own versions of laws forbidding salary history questions. These laws are aimed at […]

Bill allowing firms to ask for workers’ genetic info passes first hurdle

A new bill would give employers a lot more freedom with their wellness program requests — and essentially override the protections under GINA.   The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (H.R. 1313) was just approved by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. If passed, the bill would allow employers to require employees to […]

War for talent just got more difficult to manage: Here’s why

If you’re in the market for top talent this quarter, news has come out about what you’re up against — and none of it’s going to make your job easier.  Several new reports have surfaced about what the job market looks like right now — and what it’s likely to look like in the months […]

New sex discrimination ruling: 4 things employers need to know

A U.S. appeals court in Atlanta made a lot of waves in the employment law community this week by ruling that sexual orientation is not a protected characteristic under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But there are some interesting wrinkles to the case that employers need to know about.  In essence, […]

Now here’s an employee perk your workers would probably approve of

If you think getting paid to eat lunch is a nice work perk, wait until you hear about the benefit one Swedish councilman is proposing for municipal workers.   In the town of Overtornea, councilman Per-Erik Muskos has proposed giving municipal employees an hour-long paid break to go home and have sex, according to a […]

Trump’s move against ‘excessive regulation’ could make life easier for HR

Tired of the compliance headaches associated with federal regs? President Trump’s latest move will likely come as a welcome relief.  Trump recently signed an Executive Order to place “regulatory reform” task forces and officers within federal agencies. The goal of these task forces: To look at current regs and roll back those that are deemed […]

Would ACA reporting requirements disappear with repeal?

Here’s what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would mean for a big administrative headache imposed on employers by the healthcare reform law.  The question a lot of employers are asking right now: Would a repeal of the ACA mean we can stop complying with the law’s reporting requirements? The answer: Probably not. It […]

This has got to be a record: 4 investigations, a judgment of $2.1M for OT violations

Occasionally, employers try some sneaky tactics to avoid paying employees the overtime they’re entitled to. This is the most egregious case of this kind of skullduggery we’ve ever come across.   El Tequila is a restaurant with four locations (Harvard, Broken Arrow, Owasso, and Memorial) in Tulsa, OK. After an employee from the Harvard location complained […]

GOP health reform bill clears first two hurdles: What’s next?

Republicans just moved one step closer to fulfilling their promises to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). How much further do they have to go?  Pretty far. The legislation — The American Health Care Act — that the Republicans are hoping to use to topple Obamacare is likely to look a lot different […]

A shortsighted hiring decision costs company $35k

Making assumptions based on stereotypes about an applicant’s fitness for work is a sure-fire way to get you in trouble, as an Indiana firm recently learned.   C&A Tool Engineering Inc., a manufacturing-tooling company in Churubusco, IN, will pay $35,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the  EEOC, the […]