Ver la versión en español aquí Thank you for being a subscriber. We hope that BeLabor the Point has brought you important information throughout the year and a few smiles along the way. Speaking of smiles, check out our department holiday card! Wishing you a joyous holiday season and happy, healthy year ahead.… Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí As we all know, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria severely impacted parts of Texas, the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico causing billions of dollars of damage. To help victims recover, Congress, the IRS, and the Department of Labor have issued special retirement plan relief for employers and participants … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí I originally hail from Toronto, Canada. As an employment attorney now practicing in Florida, I enjoy comparing US employment laws with their Canadian counterparts. So first, the news from Florida. On January 1, 2018, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from $8.10 per hour to $8.25 per hour. This adjustment … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Employers can breathe a sigh of relief: The EEOC’s initiative to collect summary pay and hours worked data in the new EEO-1 form has ended … for now, at least. Just last year, on September 26, 2016, the EEOC announced that the annual EEO-1 reporting process would change for … Continue Reading
Dear Clients and Friends, In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, our thoughts are with you for a safe and speedy recovery. We are back in business, fully operational, and here to assist in any way we can. We look forward to connecting with you soon. Our regular blog postings will resume next week at BeLaborThePoint.com and CafeConLabor.com. … Continue Reading
It’s throwback Thursday … err Tuesday. As those of us in Florida prepare for the potential landfall of Hurricane Irma this weekend, please check out my colleague Bob Turk’s interview with the Miami Herald about storm preparations for human resource professionals and our post from hurricane season last year on what happens to employees’ pay … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí On November 22, 2016, many of you breathed a (big) sigh of relief. Why? Because a Texas federal judge issued a nationwide temporary injunction precluding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2016 overtime regulations from going into effect on December 1, 2016. These regulations would have significantly increased the … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Is your organization a “public accommodation” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? Does your organization have a website? If so, can that website be navigated with a keyboard (instead of a mouse) and with screen reader software? Is the audio content on the website captioned? … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Poll in-house counsel about the things that keep them up at night. The contents of a wage statement (commonly known as a “pay stub”) would be way down that list. After all, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Florida state law do not require any specific information … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Yahoo! has taken several hits in the last six months for failing to protect its users’ electronic information. Its September, 2016 announcement of a massive 2014 data breach that exposed the email addresses and other personally identifiable information (“PII”) of approximately 500 million accountholders derailed its proposed merger with … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Let’s go back to happier times … for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, that is. On January 15, 2017, the Steelers won the AFC Divisional playoff, moving the team to the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots the following Sunday. (Cue the “Boos”). The players were elated. The post-game … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí The stage is set. Super Bowl 51 will arrive in less than two weeks. But will your employees? In January 2016, the Workforce Institute conducted a survey to assess the impact of the Super Bowl on worker productivity the next day. According to the study, 77% of Americans planned … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí A new law passed by Congress reinstates the ability of eligible small employers to reimburse employee paid premiums to purchase individual health insurance policies. The law reverses the application of huge penalties that would have applied to such reimbursement actions under the IRS’ interpretation of the Affordable Care Act. … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí This is the second time my post discusses Donald Trump, except now he is President-elect Donald Trump. Much has been written in the week since his election regarding how his presidency may impact employers. Overall, the consensus seems to be that established laws such as Title VII and the … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Not really. On October 25, 2016, the White House issued a call to action urging states to reform their non-compete laws. The call to action acknowledges that non-compete agreements are appropriate in certain circumstances, (for example, to protect trade secrets), but expressed the view that employers are, in many instances, … Continue Reading
Salary history is one of the most commonly asked questions on employment applications. Knowing what a prospective employee currently earns or what they’ve earned in the past can provide you with valuable information to guide your decision as to whom ultimately to hire: It allows you to determine whether the candidate is in the same salary … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí It’s time! An employee needs to go. The departure needs to be a clean break with no threat of future litigation. A severance pay agreement, in exchange for a promise to never bring a claim against the company or speak ill of the company, looks like a good idea. … Continue Reading
With Hurricane Matthew expected to hit the east coast this week, Floridians are stocking up on water, batteries, gas, and canned food. It’s important to be prepared and plan ahead for your home and family. For those in Human Resources, it is also a good time to plan ahead for what happens with employees’ pay … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí The “Cat’s Paw” doctrine describes the situation where an employer may be liable for employment decisions based on the discriminatory animus of an employee who influenced — but who did not make — an employment decision. The phrase comes from an Aesop fable where a conniving monkey convinces a … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published two updated workplace posters: Federal Minimum Wage poster, and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) poster. (Note: Federal, state or local governments are exempt from the EPPA so no poster is required for these employers) The posters have been visually redesigned and includes a QR Code, which when … Continue Reading
Your employee, Debbie Deadbeat, doesn’t pay her debts and gets slapped with a judgment. Before you know it, a process server comes to your office and serves you with a continuing writ of garnishment of Debbie’s salary and wages. First: What is a Writ? Second: What should you do about it? A Writ is essentially … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí A year ago, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price announced plans to raise the salary of every employee to $70,000 by 2017, even entry level staffers. In order to help offset the increased labor costs, Price announced his intention to lower his own salary from $1,000,000+ to $70,000 (he apparently … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí For years, employers have looked for ways to implement a one-size-fits-all paperless (all electronic) pay system for paying employees’ wages. While direct deposit is a good option, there are very few states that allow an employer to implement direct deposit if an employee does not agree. Florida is not … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been busy with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) this week! New FMLA Poster There is a new FMLA General Notice, aka FMLA poster: Employee Rights Under The Family and Medical Leave Act. The substantive … Continue Reading
