Archive for the ‘Random Musings’ Category

The Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008 was written to restore the original ADA definition of disability that Congress felt had been whittled down by the courts, but in the process the definition has become so broad and all-encompassing that litigants are already testing the legal waters–even before ADAAA final regulations have taken [...]

On July 5, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Wagner Act, which has come down through the ages as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the landmark legislation that codified workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain with employers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is charged with enforcing provisions of [...]

First attorneys got themselves exempted. Physicians then jumped in on sought a similar court order, and now accountants have succeeded in getting a judge to free them from the upcoming implementation of the Red Flags Rule, which requires companies to set up procedures to prevent identity theft. The Red Flags Rule is part of the [...]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), while legally bound to a fine structure with limits, is seeking to raise its average fine from the $1,000 range to the $3,000 to $4,000 range while awaiting higher fine approval from Congress. OSHA Director David Michaels announced on April 22 what the agency is calling its Severe [...]

Taking the stage in Chicago at what was once Jane Addams’ Hull House, where FDR Labor Secretary Frances Perkins got started, Obama Labor Secretary Hilda Solis launched a nationwide public awareness program called "We Can Help" on April 1. "I have a message for those employers who break this nation’s labor laws and prey on [...]

As reported here this past November when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced its plans, the federal tax agency has commenced the first phase of its audit of 6,000 firms of all sizes and industries to root out abuses of executive pay, fringe benefits, record-keeping, and misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The Employment Tax [...]

Wild Edibles, a Long Island City, N.Y.-based wholesale seafood purveyor that was forced into bankruptcy in July 2009, has settled with a wage-earners’ group that led a successful boycott of the firm’s provisioning by 70 Manhattan restaurants. The boycott was orchestrated by the nonprofit group Brandworkers, which alleged overtime and wage-and-hour violations by Wild Edibles [...]

Just got my hands on a list of the "Top 10 Bailout Money Recipients" detailing the companies that have received the largest grants from ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds. Topping the list is an organization called Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS). SRNS operates the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, [...]

Allstate Insurance Company and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have settled litigation over age discrimination by the insurer brought by 90 affected employees. As a result, Allstate will fork over $4.5 million to settle all claims in the class-action suit. The judgment arises from Allstate’s having instituted a rehiring freeze at the same time that it [...]

In a case that could have far-reaching impact on private employers, the Supreme Court is reviewing a decision that granted privacy protection to text messages sent over a third-party communication system paid for by the employer, in this case, the city of Ontario, Calif., police department. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, in Quon v. Arch [...]