Archive for March 2021
Manufacturers Should Prepare for OSHA’s New and Altered Proposed Hazard Communication Requirements
Manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and importers have often struggled with communicating product hazards to downstream employees and users, due to complex hazard communication requirements in international standards, as well as federal and state law. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced proposed amendments to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) in 29 CFR 1910.1200 to…
Read MoreIt’s Time Again for Employers to Ensure Handbook Compliance
It is early in 2021 and already the NLRB has before it ALJ determinations that employee handbook policies conflict with the NLRA. When analyzing employee handbook policies, the Board generally applies the Boeing test, whereby a handbook policy’s potential interference with employee rights under the NLRA is balanced against an employer’s legitimate justifications for the policy, when…
Read MoreEEOC: IHOP Manager Conditioned Leave, Scheduling on Accepting Sexual Advances
A manager at a Frederick, Maryland, IHOP restaurant subjected women, including teen workers, to sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit. EEOC said the manager subjected female employees to unwanted advances and touching, sexual comments and intrusive questions about their…
Read MoreMost Pay Equity Laws Stifle Employers’ Ability to Make Progress
Forty-four states have enacted pay equity laws since the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into legislation, according to Syndio, a pay equity analytics platform, and Fair Pay Workplace, a nonprofit. But despite the “well-intentioned” laws, progress on closing the pay gap has stalled, “The State of Pay Equity Laws in the U.S.—2021,”…
Read MoreDOL Moves to Rescind Joint Employment, Independent Contractor Regulations
The U.S. Department of Labor plans to rescind a Trump-era regulation on joint employment and an impending regulation on independent contractor use, it said in a March 11 announcement. The joint employment rule took effect in March 2020 and limited employers’ liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A federal district court, however, vacated large portions of the…
Read MoreEmployers Paid $439M to Resolve EEOC Discrimination Claims in 2020
Employers paid more than $439 million to resolve U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination allegations. That number includes both private sector and state and local government workplaces during the agency’s 2020 fiscal year, according to a Feb. 26 statement. Retaliation claims constituted more than half of all charges filed with the agency last year, while disability-related claims and…
Read MoreCheck Your Call-In Policies
A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeal decision provides great guidance on what a good call-in policy can look like. In this case the employer, Penn State Health, utilized a call-in policy that required employees to make twocalls when they wanted to request FMLA leave: First, an employee had to call to a designated “call-off” line,…
Read More5 Ways to Check on Your Team’s Well-Being Without Being Invasive
Here’s how to express empathetic curiosity about your workers, without seeming like a snoop. During a recent video meeting, one of our star employees appeared to be struggling. She was uncharacteristically reserved and distracted. Her contributions were also scattered, when she’s usually precise and outspoken. COVID-19 has turned life upside down for many of us,…
Read More5 FMLA Certification Questions on Coronavirus Answered
As decisions are being made at the federal level, HR practitioners continue to seek guidance on FMLA certification procedures. Certifications for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave continue to challenge employers in all industries, especially as the coronavirus pandemic continues, according to the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC). The FMLA provides eligible employees up…
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