Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Watch Personnel Concepts’ video on Workplace Harassment Investigations. As the federal fiscal year approaches its end each September, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) traditionally files its largest aggregate of lawsuits for the year. In September 2017, for instance, the EEOC filed 88 lawsuits. This fiscal year, the commission through the end of August had […]

In keeping with the agency’s  commitment to ensuring an American workforce for Americans of all abilities, the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced this year’s official National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) theme: “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.” “President Trump’s administration is committed to ensuring that all Americans can access good, family-sustaining jobs. A workforce that […]

Starting this June 11, a new law in New York City will prohibit employers from discriminating in hiring practices against the unemployed, which the law defines as individuals "not having a job, being available for work, and seeking employment." The New York City Commission on Human Rights has been charged with fielding complaints and reports […]

An October survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt found that 54 percent of employers plan to end salary freezes within six months, up from 33 percent in August. Some 49 percent, just shy of a majority, also said they plan to end hiring freezes in the same time frame. Overall, 56 percent of those surveyed […]

Provisions in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of the stimulus package passed in February, created new security and breach rules for those covered by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), but afforded everyone a six-month window to achieve full compliance that runs into 2010. […]

In 1993, the nurses at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in California voluntarily created and voted for a plan to work 12-hour instead of 8-hour shifts while retaining their hourly rate without being paid overtime. Under the plan, the nurses went from $22.83 an hour for 8 hours to $19.57 for 12 hours. However, for […]

In light of 25 recent construction- and workplace-related deaths in the state and on the Las Vegas Strip, Federal OSHA officials have conducted an investigation into the Nevada OSHA program and concluded that it is both ineffective and incompetent. Complete report available here. The Feds specifically gigged the agency for not issuing more willful violations, […]

If you’ve been underpaying and/or under-reporting your company’s payroll taxes, the IRS wants to know–and collect what’s due. With the annual "tax gap" between what’s owed and what’s paid estimated at $290 billion, the Internal Revenue Service is siccing its agents on 5,000 randomly selected employers beginning in November 2009 as much for a learning […]

This week a House-Senate panel reconciling budget measures voted to extend for three years the E-Verify online employment eligibility system. At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formally withdrew the "no match" safe harbor rule of the Bush administration. The Bush-era "no match" rule gave employers three months to straighten out mismatched […]

About one-third of all employees who call in sick are faking it, a percentage that has held steady over the years. However, the chances of getting fired for abusing sick-day privileges are falling, down from 18 percent a year ago to 15 percent today, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, a jobs site. The number […]