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Proposed EEOC regs limit employee wellness program incentives

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently proposed new rules about the incentives you can provide to employees to participate in wellness programs without violating the law. The key is to ensure the...

Feb 23, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Vaccinated workplace is a happy workplace, right? Not always

Employers have met the approval of two—and potentially more—COVID-19 vaccines by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with optimism that their coronavirus-related, safe-workplace woes are at long last coming to...

Feb 23, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Cal/OSHA updates FAQs on COVID-19 emergency temporary standard

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued a sweeping COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) effective November 30, 2020, which caught California employers off-guard (for more on the...

Feb 22, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · California

Purported 'per diem' payments must be included in overtime calculation

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal law the mandates minimum wage and overtime compensation for most employees, overtime is payable for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek at the rate of 1.5 times...

Feb 21, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Rare win for employers with arbitration agreements in California

Even though the California Arbitration Act (CAA) and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) clearly express a strong public policy favoring the enforcement of arbitration agreements, California courts have a long history of...

Feb 21, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · California

Retaliation included in initial FEHA discrimination charge

We all know that before filing an action alleging a violation of California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an employee must exhaust his administrative remedies by filing a verified complaint with the...

Feb 07, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · California

Tackling climate change: What role can HR play?

Climate change—it's an intimidating topic to try to understand. And when a problem is so massive, employers may be tempted to wait for perfect solutions to materialize before they jump into action. But employees...

Feb 07, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

The battle over workplace regulation

Remember back when we used to go on long family road trips, driving for hours while the kids in the back seat repeatedly shout, "Are we there yet?" To them, the trip is interminable and the boredom unnecessary; they have...

Feb 07, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · California

Google workers of the world, unite!

Until recently, Google’s unofficial motto was “Don’t be evil.” When it restructured to become a subsidiary of Alphabet in 2015, the motto was changed to “Do the right thing”—apparently a response to accusations that some...

Feb 07, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · California

4th Circuit lays out employer-friendly framework for ADA claims

The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia employers) recently issued a decision involving a former employee's disability discrimination claim that...

Jan 31, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Q - A: Dealing with employee pay after demotion

Q Thirty months ago, we promoted an individual to a position that requires a special license and included a pay raise. He has repeatedly failed to get his license and, as a result, has never been able to perform the job...

Jan 31, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Year-end stimulus legislation provides PPP enhancements, other COVID-19 relief

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, was a large year-end appropriations bill containing COVID-19-related stimulus and relief provisions in several key areas, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), paid...

Jan 31, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

DOL revisits compensable travel time

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an opinion letter about compensation for employee travel time—a complex issue to assess, particularly given that many workers mix business and pleasure while traveling...

Jan 31, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Keep your performers close, get others off your team . . . promptly

Our experiences with COVID-19 have demonstrated something your grandmother probably already told you: A problem ignored is not a problem solved. While procrastination can sometimes be a good thing (e.g., brussels sprouts...

Jan 31, 2021 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington