In early February, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) reached its 30th anniversary. Efforts continue in Congress to expand the law to provide paid leave and increase the coverage of the law. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division has issued an opinion letter concerning taking FMLA by an employee with a chronic health condition who cannot work more than eight hours per day.
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The United States Supreme Court will review during this term, a religious accommodations case involving an employee of the United States Postal Service. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated a resource document on hearing disabilities in the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) requires employers to post by February 1st, a form detailing work-related illnesses and injuries during the previous year and also has increased its civil penalties to reflect the increase in the cost of living.
The U.S. Department of Labor has rescheduled the release of its proposed salary basis threshold rule for May and the Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompete agreements on their workers.
The start of the year marked the beginning of a two-year session of Congress. Prior to adjourning in December, the Congress included in its bill funding the federal government the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, and the Securing a Secure Retirement Act.
President Joseph Biden has signed the Speak Out Act and the Respect for Marriage Act and The Department of Labor has found numerous Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations in the care industry as a result of a recent initiative designed to improve compliance.
Sixty-one million adults in the United States live with a disability. The majority have mobility issues, followed by neurodiversity, hearing, and vision. And yet, every one of these individuals has abilities – not just disabilities – that can contribute to the workforce when disability inclusion is core to an employer’s DEI programs.
Congress exercised the power it has under the Railway Labor Act to prevent a freight railway workers strike by ratifying the agreement that was negotiated by railway workers and management. The Labor Department issued a final rule that allows retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when selecting retirement investments. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the time spent by turning on and loading programs on computers was compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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Congress has approved the Speak Out Act, which would make unenforceable pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses in cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The Department of Labor did not meet its October deadline to issue proposed regulations updating the overtime salary basis threshold under the FLSA. Several federal agencies have issued a military employment discrimination resource, and voters in two states approved minimum wage increases.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released an updated Know Your Rights poster that employers need to post and make available to employees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released various benefit plan contributions limits for 2023, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a proposed rule concerning fair choice and employee voice, and the Department of Homeland Security has notified employers that they should continue using the current I-9 form despite its expiration date of October 31, 2022
Kimberlie England, co-author of Mission Next: Successfully transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, says that one way to retain veterans – and to keep them engaged and excited about their work – is through creating a veteran-informed culture.
One critical business process that every HR professional must be aware of and help bolster is a cyber-aware culture in which every employee plays a role in protecting the organization’s data, devices, and IT networks from unauthorized access and malicious use: cybersecurity.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that is designed to help employers classify workers and to address misclassification that occurs when workers are considered independent contractors rather than employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The HRCI team extends heartfelt congratulations to James (Jim) Lewis, SPHR, GPHR, President of J. Lewis Consulting Group, LLC and Chair of ISO Technical Committee 260, on his recent ANSI Award. Lewis previously served as Board Chair and Board Member at HRCI.
Last week, Thought Industries (Ti) named HRCI the winner of its 2022 Continuing Education Award. Part of the company’s COGNITION22 Customer Awards, Ti made the announcement during its annual enterprise learning conference and user event, which was held online from October 3 – 6, 2022.
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The United States Supreme Court began its new term on October 3rd with several cases already on its docket that could impact workforces. The federal government has been funded through mid-December thus avoiding a partial government shutdown that would have occurred on October 1st. The Department of Labor has expanded its registered apprenticeship program, OSHA has modified the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, and the EEOC has released new data.