Articles tagged 'Labor Dept.'

Be Careful What You Wish For: Congress May Allow “Comp Time”

by Ted Boehm on Apr 29, 2013, 9:12 AM | No comments yet

By Ted Boehm

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider amending the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to permit private-sector employers to offer compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation.

The fast-tracked Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) was approved by a House committee only eight days after its introduction.

Under the proposal, eligible non-union employees could agree to a comp-time arrangement “in writing or [in an] otherwise verifiable record.” The policy could be implemented for eligible unionized employees via a collective bargaining agreement. Participating employees would then receive at least 1.5 hours of comp time for each overtime hour worked. Read more…

HR Basics, HR Management

After 20 Years It’s Time to Ask: Is the FMLA Still Working?

by Stephanie R. Thomas on Mar 14, 2013, 8:10 AM | No comments yet

It’s hard to believe that the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) was signed into law 20 years ago. How has the FMLA impacted employers, workers and their families?

The U.S. Department of Labor recently conducted a survey addressing that very question. According to the report, the FMLA has had a positive effect on the lives of workers and their families without imposing an undue burden on employers, and has created very little disruption in the workplace.

Here are some key findings from the survey: Read more…

HR Basics

Everything You Could Possibly Want to Know About the New FMLA

by Mark Toth on Mar 13, 2013, 12:20 PM | No comments yet

The new FMLA rule is now in effect. Here’s a handy guide to what you really need to know.

What changed?

In 2008, the Family Medical and Leave Act was amended to provide leave for military families.

In 2010, the FMLA was amended again to expand military-leave protections and to add a special eligibility provision for airline flight crews. The new rule — which officially went into effect March 8 — puts those changes into practice. Read more…

HR News & Trends

February Surprise: Job Growth Solidly Up, Unemployment Drops to 7.7%

by John Zappe on Mar 8, 2013, 10:09 AM | No comments yet

Economists were surprised and investors pleased by the latest monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday that said 236,000 jobs were created in February. That helped drop the U.S. unemployment rate down to 7.7 percent.

Every survey conducted before the numbers were released by the U.S. Department of Labor had the average prediction showing between about 150,000 and 165,000 jobs added in February. Most also predicted that January’s 7.9 percent unemployment rate wouldn’t change.

ADP’s job count, prepared by Moody’s Analytics and released Wednesday, came the closest to today’s numbers, reporting 198,000 private sector jobs were created during the month. Read more…

HR Insights, HR Management

Do You Know How to Pay Employees For Daylight Savings Time Work?

by Eric B. Meyer on Mar 6, 2013, 12:15 PM | 2 Comments

By Eric B. Meyer

This Sunday, Daylight Savings Time begins, as we push the clocks forward one hour at 2:00 am on March 10, 2013.

Did someone say Clocks?

How does the time change affect the manner in which you pay hourly non-exempt employees who work the graveyard shift? I’ll let the U.S. Department of Labor explain: Read more…

HR News & Trends, Legal Issues

Labor Department Pushing Ahead on Employee “Right to Know” Initiative

by John E. Thompson on Jan 21, 2013, 10:20 AM | 1 comment

By John E. Thompson

As we speculated in November, the U.S. Department of Labor apparently does intend to reinvigorate its so-called “Right to Know” initiative.

This vague and ambiguous proposal first surfaced in 2010 but was eventually shelved. The Labor Department has now announced its intention to conduct a survey “to collect information about employment experiences and workers’ knowledge of basic employment laws and rules so as to better understand employees’ experience with worker misclassification.” Read more…

HR Basics, HR News & Trends

New Hikes Will Give Washington, Oregon Highest Minimum Wage Rates

by Alyssa Engelberg on Dec 21, 2012, 11:25 AM | No comments yet

By Alyssa Engelberg

On January 1, 2013, the minimum wage for employees working in Washington will increase to $9.19 per hour. On the same day, the minimum wage for employees working in Oregon will rise to $8.95 per hour.

With these increases, Washington and Oregon will remain the states with the two highest minimum wage rates in the entire country.

What do employers need to know about this change, aside from increasing their payroll accordingly? Read more…

HR Basics, Legal Issues

Temporary Worker Program Under Fire From the Department of Labor

by Kim Kiel Thompson on Dec 6, 2012, 12:45 PM | No comments yet

By Kim Kiel Thompson

During the holiday season, many companies supplement the year-round workforce with temporary workers, including foreign workers employed under the H-2B temporary worker program.

The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has been ramping up its investigation and audit process for H-2B program users. If your company relies on the H-2B program to meet seasonal or peak needs, make sure that you are in compliance with all program requirements.

In order to employ H-2B temporary workers, an employer must prove to the Labor Department that the H-2B job is temporary (seasonal, peak-load, intermittent need or a one-time occurrence), that no U.S. workers are available to fill the temporary positions (accomplished by conducting specific recruitment steps), and that the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers will not be adversely affected by the employment of H-2B workers. Read more…

HR News & Trends, Legal Issues

Is It Ever OK For Employers to “Round” an Employee’s Worktime?

by John E. Thompson on Dec 5, 2012, 9:14 AM | No comments yet

By John E. Thompson

For many years, some employers have chosen to “round” non-exempt employees’ time entries in computing their wages.

News items in recent days have reported on a California appellate court’s ruling in See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court and Silva that a properly administered “rounding” practice does not violate California wage-hour law.

This is of course good news for California employers, and to some extent for employers across the nation (See’s Candy is not binding precedent outside of California or under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act). Nevertheless, management should not take it as a foregone conclusion that “rounding” worktime is beyond dispute in every situation. Read more…

Legal Issues

The Top 12 Immigration Mistakes Employers Made in 2012

by Shanon Stevenson on Nov 23, 2012, 10:25 AM | No comments yet

By Shannon Stevenson

Give your company the gift of an immigration audit this year – it may just keep your company off the government’s naughty list.

Here are the top 12 immigration mistakes employers made in 2012:

1. Failing to properly pay H-1B workers. The U.S. Department of Labor barred a Washington information technology consulting services company from participating in the H-1B program for two years, assessed $405,175 in civil money penalties, and ordered payment of $983,039.12 in back wages for numerous H-1B violations, including willful failure to pay required wages by demanding workers pay H-1B government filing fees. Read more…