News
What Employers Need to Know about Trump’s Religious Liberty Executive Order
5.5.17 President Trump signed an executive order on religious liberty yesterday to commemorate the National Day of Prayer. Like many before it, the exact contents of this order were hotly anticipated, fueled by White House leaks and presidential...
Viewpoint: How to Fire Someone for Poor—but Undocumented—Performance
Marilyn is a human resources director at a large construction company and is faced with an almost impossible task: Fire a director of operations with 13 years of tenure and no record of prior corrective action or negative performance reviews. The...
New Law Lets Small Employers Use Stand-Alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements
updated on Feb. 28, 2017 President Barack Obama on Dec. 13 signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which will let small businesses use health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to fund employees who purchase individual health plans on the open...
Trump DOL Pick Says Overtime Rule Should Reflect Inflation
The Department of Labor's (DOL's) controversial 2016 rule expanding the number of workers who qualify for overtime pay should be updated to match inflation, according to President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary. "I believe the salary...
8 Things to Consider When Updating Employee Handbooks for 2017
Federal and state legal developments over the last year brought a lot of changes that impact workplace policies and procedures, making it critical for companies to review their handbooks for compliance. "2016 was the busiest year I can recall in...
The Workplace Implications Of President Trump’s Latest Immigration Executive Order
1.30.17 Late Friday afternoon, President Trump signed a controversial executive order focusing on immigration issues. The executive order, titled “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States by Foreign Nationals” and signed on...
When I-9s Lead To Oh-Nos: Failing To Complete Forms Within 3 Business Days Can Lead To Hefty Fines
2.1.17 A recent federal court of appeals decision provides an important reminder for you to complete I-9 forms promptly and properly retain related records in the event of a government inspection. Failure to follow the lessons taught by this case...
Court refuses to block OSHA’s new anti-retaliation rule that restricts post-accident drug testing and safety incentive programs
Effective date is tomorrow! By David Smith Atlanta Office A federal judge in Dallas, Texas, decided Monday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration could begin enforcing the anti-retaliation provisions of its new “Reasonable Reporting...
BLOCKED! Court Preliminarily Halts Overtime Rules With Last-Minute Ruling
Rules Will Not Take Effect On December 1; Future Thereafter Uncertain 11.22.16 In a dramatic last-minute development, a federal judge in Texas today blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL’s) overtime rule from taking effect on December 1,...