The parental exemption allows children of any age who are employed by their parent, or a person standing in the place of a parent, to perform any job on a farm owned or operated by their parent or such person standing in the place of a parent. Congress created the parental exemption in 1966 when it expanded protections for children employed in agriculture and prohibited their employment in jobs the Department of Labor declared particularly hazardous for children under the age of 16 to perform.

The DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) was driven to update its 40-year-old child labor regulations by studies showing that children are significantly more likely to be killed while performing agricultural work than while working in all other industries combined. The department's child labor in agriculture statutory authority extends only to children employed in agriculture who are 15 years of age or younger.

As a result of the public commentary it received about the proposed new defintion, however, the DOL announced this past week that it would come up with a revised definition by early summer, at which time it would solicit still further public commentary.

A group of 72 agricultural associations was at the forefront of those groups challenging the new definition, saying it “would significantly curtail the employment opportunities available to youth working in U.S. agriculture….”

NOTE: The details in this blog are provided for informational purposes only. All answers are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The author specifically disclaims any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the reliance on or use of this blog.

The proposed language would extend the entitlement of military caregiver leave to family members of veterans for up to five years after leaving the military. At this time, the law covers only family members of "currently serving" service members. Additionally, the proposal expands the military family leave provisions of the FMLA by extending qualifying exigency leave to employees whose family members serve in the regular armed forces. Currently, the law only covers families of National Guard members and reservists.

For airline flight crew employees, the proposed revision makes the benefits of the FMLA more accessible. It would add a special hours of service eligibility requirement for them and specific provisions for calculating the amount of FMLA leave used that better take into account the unique — and often difficult-to-track — hours worked by crew members.

NOTE: The details in this blog are provided for informational purposes only. All answers are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The author specifically disclaims any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the reliance on or use of this blog.

Prior to VOW, courts had found it unclear if USERRA offered harassment (hostile work environment) protection to service members as a protected class. Now this has been clarified and amended by VOW.

All employers must notify past, present, and future members of the uniformed services in writing about their rights and obligations under USERRA. Get your copy of Personnel Concepts' USERRA Military Leave Compliance Program today and display the USERRA Rights poster that comes with it as a first step in compliance.

Since those additional funds derive solely from a provision to fully finance the Job Corps, however, the DOL is actually receiving $545.6 million less than fiscal 2011 and $942.2 million less than requested by the White House.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is being funded at $278 million, $4 million less than fiscal 2011 and $8.9 million below the president's request.

The appropriations bill also comes with a few restrictive provisions that are aimed at preventing implementation of certain initiatives. Among the initiatives being barred by the appropriations bill are an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposal to add a musculoskeletal reporting column to the yearly Log 300 injury and illness report; an NLRB proposal to allow electronic or off-site voting in union organizing elections; and an Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) proposal to redefine "fiduciary" for the purposes of offering investment advice.

Yesterday (Dec. 15, 2011), the DOL did just that with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will fold home health care workers (but not babysitters) into the wage-and-hour protections of the FLSA. There will be a 60-day public commentary period before the department moves to finalize and publish the rule.

Currently, there are 1.9 million home health care workers in the United States, of whom 1.59 million work for staffing agencies.

Joining in on the announcement, President Obama noted,“Today’s action will ensure that these men and women get paid fairly for a service that a growing number of older Americans couldn’t live without.”

To understand all the requirements and regulations of the FLSA, please procure a copy of Personnel Concepts' informative but easy-to-use FLSA Compliance Program.

The proposed regulations aim to describe specific actions the employers must take to achieve affirmative hiring and promoting, increase the contractor's data collection obligations, and establish specific utilization benchmarks to help measure the effectiveness of the contractor's affirmative actions.

If you're a federal contractor or subcontractor, you should obtain a copy of Personnel Concepts' All-On-One Federal Contracts Poster and display it prominently. The poster will communicate  your commitment to affirmative action in all your employment practices.

The reasoning behind this, according to the author, EEOC attorney-advisor Aaron Konopasky, is that some individuals are unable to obtain high school diplomas because of learning disabilities.

The author opines: “Even if the diploma requirement is job-related and consistent with business necessity, the employer may still have to determine whether a particular applicant whose learning disability prevents him from meeting it can perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.”

Though such informal letters do not carry the weight of  law, this one could indicate that the EEOC is moving in the direction of saying that requiring a high school diploma could have a disparate impact on a certain class of individuals.

Employers and HR professionals should avail themselves of Personnel Concepts EEO Compliance Program to ensure they're observing all job applicants' and employees' rights under federal law. Get yours today.

The case in question is Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. Christopher and other such plaintiffs argue that their positions do not entail sales but merely the representation of the pharmaceutical companies in a function similar to public relations. Thus they are due overtime pay as non-exempt employees and are not exempt from FLSA time-and-a-half provisions as outside sales representatives.

An interconnected issue is whether the courts are obliged to follow interpretations of the FLSA by the Department of Labor (DOL). Before 2009, the DOL maintained that pharmaceutical representatives do indeed fall under the FLSA's definition of outside sales representatives, who are exempt employees and not subject to federal overtime rules, but the department shifted its position when the Obama administration was sworn in.

As for deferring to the DOL's interpretation, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it had no such obligation while the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court did so defer. 

Now it is in the Supreme Court's hands to rule on who or what rules.

To help employers and human resource professionals to better and more correctly classify employees as exempt and non-exempt, Personnel Concepts has developed a comprehensive FLSA Compliance Program. Get yours today and protect yourself against charges of past-due overtime pay and other FLSA-related issues.

Originally part of the failed American Jobs Act, the bill establishes tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans and was included as an amendment to tax legislation that passed earlier this fall.

The measure provides up to a $5,600 tax credit for employers that hire veterans who have been unemployed for six months or more. For veterans unemployed for at least four weeks but for less than six months, the credit is $2,400. The bill also increases the amount under the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit to $9,600 for employers who hire veterans with service-related disabilities who have been unemployed for six months or longer.

Employers should also be cognizant of servicemembers' rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which guarantees job protection and reinstatement rights to employees who are called to active duty. Toward this end, Personnel Concepts recommends acquiring a copy of our USERRA Leave Rights Compliance Program and putting it into effect.

The extension was granted by the Obama administration after U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts of Kansas and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, along with others, asked the administration to extend the comment period.

Language in the proposed regulation would further limit the places, times and activities where children can work on and around farming operations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which first placed restrictions on child labor and continues to be the basis for such regulations.

To help employers stay in full compliance with the FLSA, Personnel Concepts has developed a FLSA Compliance Kit, which comes with both printed manual and CD-ROM versions. Get yours today.