On September 11, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a final rule that prevents government contractors from having pay secrecy or confidentiality policies. Specifically, the rule prohibits discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee or applicant because the employee or applicant inquired about, discussed, or disclosed the compensation of the employee or any other employee. But the rule allows contractors to require human resources personnel (who have access to employee compensation information as part of their job responsibilities) to keep such compensation information confidential.
Sexual harassment litigation is expensive
As the latest news cycle reminds us, sexual harassment continues to plague American workplaces. In addition to affecting leadership confidence, employee morale, and public opinion, claims of sexual harassment carry with them another negative: Litigat
Employers can’t adopt a broad no-recording rule
On June 1, 2017, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) about an employer rule barring employees from making recordings without prior approval. Whole Foods Market had adopted two rule
Sexual-orientation discrimination has reached the U.S. Supreme Court
Earlier this year, I predicted the issue of sexual-orientation discrimination was headed all the way to the United States Supreme Court. On September 7, 2017, the issue did, in fact, reach the Supreme Court when the Lambda Legal Defense and Education
New overtime regulations ruled invalid
The Obama Administration issued new regulations about overtime that were to take effect on December 1, 2016. Just before they were to take effect, a U.S. district court in Texas enjoined the regulations. So since about December 1, 2016, employers hav
EEO-1 Forms: Out with the New and In with the Old?
Update: On August 29, 2017, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) indefinitely suspended the new EEO-1 Form. OIRA is part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Employers will still have to file an EEO-1, but it will be the o
Oct
12
Oct
05
Just in case you don’t think the U.S. Department of Labor is serious about going after misclassification of workers:
Sep
01
In an effort to attract and retain valuable employees, several large national companies are implementing updated leave policies to provide paid time off for employees who welcome a new child. The most recent news comes from Netflix, which announced its new policy of allowing full-time salaried employees in Netflix’s streaming division unlimited paid leave for a year following the birth or adoption of a child. Netflix’s announcement last month comes on the heels of several other companies who are providing paid time off to new parents.
Aug
27
On July 6, 2015, the Federal Register published extremely significant proposed changes to the rules governing overtime under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the first step in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) changing the rules and is primarily directed toward decreasing the number of executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees who are exempt from the requirement that employers pay them time-and-a-half (1.5 times) their hourly rate for any time worked over 40 hours during a 7-day period. Put another way, this proposed change is likely to increase the number of people who get paid overtime by raising the threshold “salary basis” for those in traditionally white-collar positions.
Jul
27
In a recent decision about an appeal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) left no question it views sexual orientation discrimination as falling within the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC stated its intent to treat all sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination, actionable under Title VII.