On March 27, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law Congress’s $1.3 trillion, 2,232-page omnibus budget bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. Notably, on page 2,025, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act by addressing rules affecting tipped employees and…
HR News
Now, Being a Great Place to Work Means Great For Each Employee
Last month I attended the Great Place to Work Institute’s annual conference, and once again I was struck by how things have changed. Great Place to Work Institute (aka GPTW) is the organization responsible for Fortune’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For”…
Appeals Court Says Prior Salary Doesn’t Justify Pay Differences
Just in time for Equal Pay Day, a federal appeals court today ruled today that an employee’s salary history alone is insufficient to justify pay differences between male and female employees. “Reliance on past wages simply perpetuates the past pervasive…
Premium Processing of H-1B Applications Is Again Suspended
Just days before the the first wave of new H-1B applications begins to arrive, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended premium processing. It’s the second time in two years the government halted the expedited handling program. It expects the…
‘Ground-Breaking’ Ruling Says Transgender Discrimination Is Covered by Title VII
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled, in what many have described as a ground-breaking decision, that discrimination based on an employee’s transgender status is discrimination based on “sex” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights…
Top Organizations Do Pay Differently From Everyone Else
In the latest “Compensation Best Practices Report,” which gathered responses from 7,100 respondents on their pay practices, PayScale – the company where I work – took a look at what really sets top performers apart. In this report, top-performing organizations were…
Who Has the Highest Turnover Rates? Hint: It’s Not Retail
What industry sector has the highest turnover? Turns out that last year it was tech. And not all tech, but the sector where companies are perpetually scrambling to find people to hire, which means tech software. That’s what LinkedIn discovered…
It’s An Exciting Time to Be In HR In the Middle East
The Middle East is currently undergoing a massive economic transformation, transitioning from resource-dependent into a knowledge-based economy. At its core, is the United Arab Emirates. The nation is quickly becoming a world leading business hub with an epicentre of trade…
Government Is Slowing H-1Bs By Making Greater Paperwork Requests
If your company is petitioning for H-1B visas and it seems like the approval process is taking longer than in years past, it’s not in your head. Anecdotal reports from immigration attorneys are backed up by the numbers: Through November…
Best Companies’ List Now Weighs Diversity, Work-Life Into Selection
Every year, Fortune and Great Place to Work compile a list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. And every year, that list is devoured by job seekers and business leaders, driven by a potent mix of curiosity and competitiveness….
Everything You Wanted to Know About Pulse Surveys
Many organizations and survey software providers use the terms “employee pulse surveys” and “always-on survey” (or variations of always-on, such as “continuous feedback” or “real-time feedback”) interchangeably. While this makes sense on the surface, pulse surveys are technically more similar…
Utah Court Holds Employers Liable Even When Workers Hide Mistakes
Despite well-settled case law in Utah regarding Respondeat Superior and the theory that an employer cannot be held liable for the actions of an employee if the employee’s conduct was outside the course and scope of his or her employment,…
Is a Leave Ever a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA?
Dear Littler: One of our key employees was injured in a serious car accident. She qualified for, and took, a full 12 weeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to recover. She was supposed to return…
Before You Settle a FLSA Claim Out of Court, Read This
It is widely understood that the vast majority of lawsuits settle before trial. From a company’s perspective, early resolution ensures certainty and limits legal expense, business distraction and – of course – liability. In recent years, corporate counsel have been…
Does Your Insurance Cover You Against Sexual Harassment Claims?
The last few months have brought seemingly unending news detailing allegations of sexual impropriety against politicians, celebrities, the news media, and other public figures. As a wave of victims march forward and social movements such as the #MeToo silence breakers grow, there…
Lawmakers Taking Aim At NDAs In Sexual Harassment Cases
In 2017, the #MeToo movement highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, toppling prominent figures in numerous fields. Sexual harassment has been unlawful for decades, of course, yet this vexing problem remains. In the wake of #MeToo, federal…
How Tech Can Help You Put the Brakes On Workplace Sexual Harassment
Inappropriate jokes. Slurs. Unwanted physical contact. When workplace harassment takes these forms, it’s easy to pinpoint. But its official definition by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encompasses other, less obvious forms, including wearing offensive clothing and sharing emails or…
Fired Google Engineer Sues Claiming Discrimination Against Caucasians, Men and Conservatives
Google has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it discriminates against white male conservatives. Filed Monday in California state court in Silicon Valley, the 161 page suit by former Google engineers James Damore and David Gudeman includes an…
How New York’s New Paid Family Leave Impacts Your Organization (Even If You’re Not in NY)
Just in case you missed it: Effective January 1, 2018, New York is requiring employers to provide Paid Family Leave (PFL), which will cover up to 8 weeks of paid leave, increasing with time, and may be used alongside the…
Expect More Immigration Crackdowns, I-9 Inspections and Visa Woes in 2018
While violations of laws regarding legal employment authorization – purposeful or inadvertent – have always carried potential serious consequences for employers, recent efforts to focus on this area by the U.S. federal government make it increasingly important to understand the…