Legal Compliance
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Compensable Working Time: The De Minimis Doctrine and ‘Rounding’ Time
There are several traps an employer can fall into with regard to accurately recording the time that an employee actually works.
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IHOP Franchisee Settles EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit for $1 Million
After complaints were made about Lee Broadnax's behavior, IHOP failed to take reasonable measures to prevent and promptly correct sexual harassment allegations, according to court documents.
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Gender Discrimination Class Expanded in Lawsuit Against Forest Pharmaceuticals
The four original plaintiffs were all Pennsylvania residents. The newly named plaintiffs are in California, Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. All are current or former Forest sales representatives.
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EEOC Settles with Mining Firm Over ADA Violations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Rocky Davis, who has profound hearing loss, had asked Birmingham, Alabama-based Jim Walter Resources, a unit of Walter Energy Inc., to accommodate him and assign him to another location, but the firm failed to honor his request.
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Screening the Screeners
In the wake of HireRight Solutions' $2.6 million penalty, background screening services are under greater scrutiny.
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Kentucky Staffing Firm Settles EEOC Suit
University of Kentucky student Megan Woodard is a member of a fundamentalist Baptist church whose members believe women should not dress like men, including refraining from wearing pants, according to the EEOC.
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Penalty for Not Completing Health Risk Assessment Does Not Violate ADA: Court
Broward County began offering an employee wellness program in 2009 through its group health insurer. The county required all employees to take a health risk assessment and provide a blood sample to determine glucose and cholesterol levels.
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Worker's Sleep Disorder Discrimination Claim Reinstated
Feldman filed suit against his employers on charges including violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and with engaging in retaliation once he returned to work.
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Employer Violated ADA by Requiring Employee's Psychological Evaluation: Court
According to the August 22 ruling in Emily Kroll v. White Lake Ambulance Authority, in 2008 the ambulance service became concerned about the behavior of Kroll, an emergency medical technician, after she became romantically involved with one of her co-workers.
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EEOC Files Charges Against Burger King in Workplace Attire Dispute
Ashanti McShan was assured she could wear a skirt to work, but when she arrived at work for orientation, store management told her she could not do so, and she was told to leave the store. McShan is a Pentecostal Christian, a denomination that requires women to wear only skirts or dresses.
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Jury Award of $3.5M Reinstated in Chrysler Discrimination Case
According to the ruling by the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in Otto May Jr. v. Chrysler Group L.L.C., the Cuban-born May was the target of racist, xenophobic, homophobic and anti-Semitic graffiti that appeared in and around the company's paint department between 2002 and 2005.
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Wal-Mart Settles Employee's EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit for $50,000
The EEOC said Wal-Mart fired Marcia Arney, a part-time clerk, from her position in its Carlsbad, New Mexico, store rather than trying to return her to her job after a medical leave related to her cerebral palsy.
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The Long Arm of the Employer Mandate
The state's Fair Share Law is alive and well, and companies with any employees in Massachusetts may be required to follow it.
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More Companies Linking Rewards, Penalties to Wellness Program Results
Fifty-eight percent of employers offering wellness incentives pegged rewards to completion of lifestyle modification programs such as weight loss, smoking cessation and physical fitness.
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Trucking Company Settles EEOC Racial Discrimination Lawsuit for $120,000
A defunct trucking company hired 38 white dock workers at its Newton, North Carolina facility in April 2011, purposefully overlooking six equally qualified African-American applicants for the positions on the basis of their race.
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SHRM Survey: Fewer Employers Conducting Credit, Criminal Checks of Job Applicants
The survey also found that an applicant's negative credit information is not a barrier to hiring, with 80 percent of the respondents saying they hired an individual with a poor credit report.
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Kentucky Establishes Health Benefit Exchange
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has issued an executive order to establish the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange as required by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the governor's office announced July 17.
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Security Guards Awarded $89.7M in Rest-Break Class Action
At issue in the litigation was that guards were given 'on-duty' breaks during which they were required to keep their cellphones or pagers on.
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Q&A With Jay Krueger: Evaluating Medical Marijuana Policies
Jay Krueger is chief strategy and client services officer at PMSI Inc., providing overall strategic direction for the Tampa, Florida-based provider of pharmacy benefit management services, medical equipment, home health care and case settlement services.
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Medical Marijuana Use Not Protected by ADA: Appeals Court
The lawsuit was brought by severely disabled plaintiffs who said conventional medications had not alleviated the pain caused by their impairments
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Civil Rights Protections Don't Extend to Wife of Illegal Immigrant
Civil rights law does not protect workers or their spouses against employer discrimination based on their alien status, says an appellate court.
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Home Depot Reaches Settlement in Firing of National Guardsman
The Justice Department has reached a $45,000 settlement with Home Depot Inc. to resolve charges it violated federal law when it terminated an Army National Guard soldier's employment.
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Health Care Reform Law Ruling Likely Complicated: WorldatWork Executive
If the high court were to strike down the individual mandate that requires most U.S.
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EEOC to Publish Discrimination Charge Statistics Online
The U.S. Equal Employment Commission said May 14 it is making its private sector workplace discrimination charge statistics for each of the 50 states and U.S. territories available online for fiscal years 2009-2011.
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Regulators Provide Guidance on Summary of Benefits Rules
Officials said they did not 'intend' to impose penalties during the first year the requirement is in effect so long as employers are working in 'good faith' to comply.
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Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Exempt from FLSA Overtime Rules
The ruling states that under the FLSA, employees are entitled to overtime pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. In both cases, plaintiffs had claimed they were misclassified as exempt employees and denied overtime pay.
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Randstad to Pay $60,000 in EEOC Suit
The settlement also requires the international staffing firm to modify its anti-discrimination policy and amend its nationwide employment law compliance training
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Wal-Mart to Pay $4.8M in Back Wages for Fair Labor Standards Act Violations
The Labor Department said under terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay all back wages the department determined are owed for violations in addition to paying liquidated damages to the employees and a penalty to the department.
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EEOC Updates Guidance on Use of Arrest, Conviction Records in Employment Decisions
The Society for Human Resource Management said in a statement it 'is pleased that the guidance does not appear to impose a one-size-fits-all set of rules on employers and seems to take into consideration that every employer will have different needs and concerns in the use of criminal background...
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Retirement Savings Tax Breaks Safe—for Now
At a House hearing, neither Dems nor Republicans seemed eager to tinker with main selling point of 401(k)s and IRAs.
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Contingent Workers Settle Suit in California
The court was notified of the settlement last month, but the suit was first filed in July 2011. It sought to represent all contingent employees who worked at both PrO and Juniper in California.
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Bill Barring Firms From Requiring Applicant Passwords Awaits Governor's OK
Calls have been growing for federal and state legislation that would bar employers from requiring access to job applicants' social media postings.
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Wisconsin Law Repeals Punitive, Compensatory Damages in Bias Cases
The bill, which was supported by numerous business groups, was signed into law by the governor April 5, but not announced until April 6.
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PBGC Director Gotbaum Discusses New Retirement Plan Options
'What we need to do is provide options so that, case by case—employer and employee—they have choices. … And I think that, actually, is an important part of the future,' Joshua Gotbaum told the National Press Club on April 3.
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To Email or Not to Email?
Limiting an employee's digital access can decrease an employer's legal liability, attorney Jennifer F. DiMarco writes.
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Employers Struggle to Control Wage-and-Hour Litigation
Employers can minimize the chances of litigation by taking steps that include periodic audits to determine whether employees are being properly classified, as well as careful record-keeping.
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Official Sentenced for Staffing Firm Bribes
Bribe payments were calculated by multiplying the total number of hours worked by temporary employees at a firm by 25 cents.
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Supreme Court Divided if Health Care Law Can Survive Without Mandate
At issue in the final day of oral arguments on health care reform was whether the individual mandate, which requires most U.S.
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Employer Requests for Applicants' Online Access Gets Lawmakers' Attention
A letter sent to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asks that agency to issue a legal opinion as to whether asking for passwords violates current federal law.
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Health Care Reform on Trial: Read the Supreme Court Oral Arguments
In addition to our web news and analysis coverage, we've posted transcripts of the arguments from all three days.
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Employers Get More Flexibility, No Extension in Health Care Plan Communications Rule
Benefit experts had hoped the administration would provide another extension, but none was provided in a batch of frequently asked questions issued March 19 by the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury.
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Ethics Group Warns of ‘Steep Declines’ in Workforce Trust
The ‘ominous warning signs’ of an ethics decline, says the Ethics Resource Center in a new survey, include a sharp increase in retaliation against employee whistle-blowers.
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White House Suggestions on Funding Contraception Coverage Called 'Unworkable'
Under one administration suggestion, TPAs could fund the coverage through rebates they receive from drug manufacturers that the TPA is not contractually liable to forward to the affiliates.
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SEC: Financial Advisers Traded on Info Gleaned From AA Meeting
The pair allegedly learned about an upcoming insurance company merger during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where shares rose 64 percent.
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Sex Club Shooting Case Goes to Jury for Workers' Comp Fraud Decision
A jury was deliberating the workers' compensation felony fraud case against a correctional guard and his wife who claimed his shooting outside a San Francisco sex club was work-related.
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Judge Rules Law Mandating State Employee Contributions Is Unconstitutional
the law constitutes 'an unconstitutional impairment of plaintiffs' contract with the State of Florida, an unconstitutional taking of private property.'
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Wal-Mart Asks for Texas Gender Bias Suit to Be Thrown Out
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a proposed class of some 1.5 million members nationwide in Betty Dukes et al. vs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., deciding that the class of plaintiffs did not have enough in common to pursue the lawsuit.
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Oklahoma Bills Would Allow Employers to Opt Out of State Workers' Comp System
If approved, Oklahoma would become the second state to adopt an alternative workers comp system. Texas has operated a similar opt-out system since 1913.
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Back Injuries Account for 26 Percent of Workers' Comp Payments in California
Back injuries reportedly comprised 26.3 percent of workers' comp payments in California between 2001 and 2011—the highest percentage of any injury type.
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EEOC Approves Strategic Plan Through 2016
The agency 'is taking a significant step toward realizing the commission's vision of ending employment discrimination and promoting equal opportunity' in the workplace, EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien said in the statement.
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Employer Guidance Urged for Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Testimony during the hearing showcased an employer's confusion over some of the act's rules.
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Obama Administration Compromises on Prescription Contraceptive Rules
Administration officials did not address how the coverage would be provided if the employer was self-insured. That issue is expected to be addressed in regulations to be released later.
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Aetna Accuses New York Doctors of Overcharging Patients
The insurance company's lawsuit takes aim at the practice called 'balance billing,' which wallops some customers with fees big enough to buy a house.
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FTC Warns Mobile App Marketers Providing Background Checks
The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to marketers that the agency says may be providing criminal background information to employers through the marketers' background screening applications—an activity the FTC says may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
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EEOC Files Sex Bias Suit Against Mavis Discount Tire
Filed Jan. 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the suit accuses Mavis Discount Tire and its allied companies of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
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Amendments to FMLA's Military Leave Provisions Proposed
The Labor Department said the proposal released Jan. 30 implements amendments to the military leave provisions of the FMLA made by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010.
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NLRB: Employer Social Media Policies Should not Bar Protected Worker Activity
An analysis of the NLRB's rulings also indicates that if an employee makes a comment on Facebook and fellow employees respond, it is considered protected activity. It is not protected, however, if only friends respond to the posting.
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Law Can Have Big Impact on Small Businesses
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 could help your business grow.
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The 411 on the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 contains several provisions that can spur growth for a range of small businesses, from one-man shops to companies worth millions. Here is a guide to the most useful parts of the bill.
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Report: California Program has Little Effect on Worker Injuries, Fatalities
While safety standards listed under the state Injury and Illness Prevention Program typically improve safety, the commission said it's unclear whether state mandates cause employers to be safer than companies that voluntarily implement such practices.
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California Prevention Program Has Little Effect on Worker Injuries, Fatalities: Report
The California Commission for Health, Safety and Workers' Compensation released a draft of the study on Jan. 12.
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Worker Can't Sue Employer if Collecting Workers' Comp, Virginia Court Rules
A worker cannot sue an employer in addition to collecting workers' compensation benefits, even when the employer fails to purchase mandatory workers comp insurance, Virginia's Supreme Court ruled Jan. 13.
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Bloomberg Outlines Ambitious 2012 Agenda
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will push for a minimum-wage increase, a $20,000 salary hike for top teachers and the firing of lousy educators from failing schools.
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High Court Upholds Religious School 'Ministerial Exception' to ADA Bias Charge
In its decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al., the nation's highest court said the ministerial exception bars only employment discrimination lawsuits.
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Analysis: Employment Class Actions Continue to Raise Firms' Financial Exposures
As a result of two key rulings, class actions are 'not dead or blocked, rather they're reforming and morphing into different iterations,' says one expert.
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Court: Comp Benefits Due to Restaurant Manager Despite Being Smoker
Edmondo Bemis—who smoked for 30 years according to the appellate court's ruling—eventually filed for workers' comp benefits, claiming that his work injury worsened until he needed the surgery and that he was totally disabled.
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Recreational Boatmakers Excluded From Workers' Comp Act
Under new federal regulations, laborers who build, repair or dismantle any recreational water vessel will no longer be covered by the Longshore Act, so long as they are covered under a state's workers comp law.
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Supreme Court Showdown: Big Pharma Firms vs. Sales Reps
At stake is a case that could not only determine whether they are eligible for millions of dollars in unpaid overtime but also could affect the livelihood of other workers who ‘promote' products.
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Staffing Executive Convicted for Not Paying $15 Million
money from the firms was used to buy homes and a yacht for Harrison as well as to finance commercial motion pictures including 'National Lampoon's Pucked' and 'Home of the Giants,' the U.S. Attorney's Office reported.
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Designer Can Sue Firm for Tapping Social Media Accounts While She was Injured
The woman alleges the accounts were accessed while she was recovering from a brain injury she sustained after being hit by a car while running an errand for work.
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California Supreme Court Nears Ruling on Meal Breaks
While meal-period laws vary nationwide, California is among the states wrestling with how far employers should go in policing meal and rest breaks.
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Blockbuster Settles Sex Harassment, Retaliation Suit for $2 Million
The alleged incidents took place in 2004 and 2005, according to the EEOC. They involved seven female temporary employees, four of whom are Hispanic.
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N.Y. State Official Blasts 401(k)s as DB Replacement
'The reality is that 401(k)s were never intended to take the place of pensions,' according to New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in a speech at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis in New York City.
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Feds Consider Taking Ex-Offenders Out of the Box
The EEOC may ban the question of criminal records on job applications while some states and municipalities already have ‘ban-the-box' legislation in place. One company executive insists the initiative isn't a bleeding-heart issue but a sound business decision.
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Best Practices for Conducting Criminal Background Checks
From the National Employment Law Project's guide Criminal Background Checks: A Best Practices Guide for Employers:
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Desperate Housewife Sentenced in Huge California Workers' Comp Scam
Investigators found the would-be reality TV star and her husband submitted 42 fraudulent claims and underreported tens of millions of dollars in payroll to avoid paying workers' compensation premiums.
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U.S. Agency Accuses Cargill of Discrimination, Seeks to Halt $60M in Contracts
The OFCCP said it has been unable to secure a fair resolution from Cargill to pay back wages and interest to the rejected job applicants and to extend job offers to at least 167of the affected workers.
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When Johnny or Janey Comes Marching Home
Veterans find it's a tough terrain in getting from the battlefield to their chosen field.
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Arrest of Mercedes Executive in Alabama Renews Debate Over Immigration Laws
Alabama's immigration law is considered among the toughest in the nation, according to legal experts. Some parts of the code, such as requiring public schools to determine the citizenship status of students and their parents, have been blocked by federal courts.
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New Law Sinks Teeth into Misclassification of Workers
Recently signed California legislation comes just weeks after the Labor Department announced a memorandum of understanding with the IRS that, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said, would bring the agencies together ‘to end the practice of misclassifying employees.'
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OSHA Tightens Its Fall Protection Rules
The new directive states that all residential construction industry employers must protect their workers who are engaged in work at six feet or more above lower levels by conventional fall protection systems or by other fall protection measures.
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PBGC Deficit Hits Record $26 Billion
As was the case in the prior fiscal year, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Fund did not incur any multibillion-dollar losses in fiscal 2011.
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Court Ruling Puts Workplace Grief on Trial
Even though the defendants avoided liability, grief recovery experts say the case illustrates the pitfalls for managers who are not trained to be sufficiently sensitive toward and educated about grief.
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The Undocumented Side of Hiring
Employers can guard against hiring undocumented workers by becoming familiar with federal regulations and enforcement practices. The primary document reviewed by federal agencies is the Form I-9.
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Court Rules Employer Liable for Accident Involving Employee's Vehicle
A contractor can be held liable for an employee hitting and injuring another worker with a truck, even though the accident involved the employee's personal vehicle, a California appellate court has ruled.
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Experts Still Warn to Beware of Information from Social Media when Hiring
There is 'so much information that's available out there' that the employer has to filter out the information to be sure it does not learn about issues it should not know about, such as religion and politics, panel contends.
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Wellness Programs Adapted for Workers' Comp
One consultant adds that employers also should optimize employee use of established wellness offerings, such as weight-loss or smoking-cessation programs that otherwise may be underutilized.
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Back-Pay Damages and Reinstatement Denied to Undocumented Workers
Employers should remain diligent in collecting work authorization documentation from employees.
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Appeals Court Allows FMLA Suit Against American Medical Association
According to the decision, because of the economic downturn, the AMA decided to eliminate the position of Peter Friedman, the communications campaign manager, because his responsibilities had drastically changed.
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Teacher Alleges Retaliation by School District for Giving Newspaper Interview
A Long Island, New York, elementary school teacher has filed a lawsuit claiming her former employers tarnished her reputation and fired her after she gave an interview to a local newspaper.
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Deceased Truck Driver’s Estranged Wife Entitled to Survivor Benefits
The appellate court’s decision in Sifford v. Sifford et al. reverses a ruling from the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.
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Court Rules in Favor of Workers’ Comp for Nurse Injured While Glancing at Cellphone While Driving
A nurse who momentarily glanced down at her cellphone to see if her employer was calling is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries suffered in an automobile accident, the Court of Appeals of Virginia has ruled.
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Insurers Contend Medical Marijuana Should not get Workers’ Comp Funding
Last week, legislation that would prohibit auto insurers from funding claims for medical marijuana was passed by Michigan’s Senate Judiciary Committee and is expected to go before the full state Senate, an Insurance Institute of Michigan spokeswoman said.
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Video Interviewing Cuts Costs, but Bias Worries Linger
One recruiter says that since incorporating online interviews she has cut spending from about $10,000 per search to roughly $500. Yet an employment lawyer advises clients to proceed with caution when using it.
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NFL’s Detroit Lions Support Michigan’s Proposed Workers’ Comp Reforms
The legislation takes aim at a loophole in the National Football League’s collective bargaining agreement, which allows players to file workers’ compensation claims in states where their teams are not based.
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NLRB Issues Employee Notification Rule
Private-sector employers with workplaces under NLRB jurisdiction (all but the smallest companies) will be required to post the employee rights notice on bulletin boards in the same area that other notices are typically posted. The rollout has been postponed until Jan. 31, 2012.
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Wal-Mart Class Action Decision Sets Precedent, Cited in Costco Ruling
An attorney notes that the Wal-Mart decision earlier this year will make it difficult for nationwide class actions in employment law to succeed.
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The Courts Weigh In
As of mid-August, of the more than 12 lawsuits brought against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act four are of any significance, legal experts say.
