Ten Most Recent Federal Articles
Brace Yourselves, the Interns Are Coming
With the dogwoods in bloom and the azaleas not far behind, many employers are approaching the season when they will welcome summer interns. Summer internships provide invaluable opportunities for students to learn about the business world or to spend some time in an industry where they may want to build a career. But utilizing interns, if not handled carefully to comply with the law, can result in later headaches for employers and leave employers open to claims that they abused the summer workers as free labor for which they must pay.
House Subcommittee Questions Recent EEOC Activities
During a House Subcommittee hearing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Jacqueline Berrien responded to questions about recent agency enforcement and regulatory initiatives. Among other topics, Berrien touched on an employer’s use of credit, criminal, and unemployment histories in making employment decisions, as well as the agency’s renewed focus on systemic discrimination cases.
Preventive Strategies Second Quarter 2013
A bulletin on employment, labor, benefits and immigration law for employers.
Customs and Border Patrol Starts Rollout of Automated Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record
As of April 30, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began phasing out the paper Form I-94 cards at airports and seaports in the U.S. and U.S. territories. CBP will still issue a paper Form I-94 card to foreign nationals seeking admission at land border crossings.
What's Really Going On in the Workplace
The latest world of work trends from Right Management.
Hospital Technician with Epilepsy Not Qualified Individual with Disability under ADA or Missouri Law
A mammography technician who suffered from epilepsy was not a “qualified individual with a disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Missouri Human Rights Act because she was unable to perform the essential functions of her job, even with accommodations, whenever she had a seizure, the federal appeals court in St. Louis has ruled. Olsen v. Capital Region Med. Ctr., No. 12-2113 (8th Cir. May 7, 2013). Affirming summary judgment in favor of the employer, the Court stated that the hospital need not “subject its patients to potential physical and emotional trauma to comply with its duties under the MHRA and the ADA.”
New Mental-Health Manual Likely to Impact HR
In psychiatry, unlike other branches of medicine, there is no laboratory test that can confirm the existence of a particular mental disorder. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known as "DSM-5" to diagnose patients. The American Psychiatric Association has just released a new fifth edition of the manual and human resources executives should take note. It contains new diagnostic categories not listed in its predecessor and loosens the criteria for some diagnoses which will likely result in more people qualifying for these diagnoses. DSM-5 is likely to impact HR by expanding the number of employees who will qualify as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act and be entitled to reasonable accommodation.
Wage and Hour Class Action Against Replacement Nurse Staffing Agency Settles
Despite the recent trend of successes in decertifying wage and hour class actions in healthcare and other sectors, the number of lawsuits seeking to certify class actions in the healthcare industry continues to grow. As a result, we also continue to see settlement of these costly and time consuming lawsuits. In one recent case, U.S. Nursing Corp. has agreed to pay $1.77 million to quickly settle claims that it failed to pay the replacement registered nurses that it provided to hospitals during labor strikes for the all-too common claims of wages owed for travel time and automatic meal period deductions. The nurses also claimed that they should have been paid daily, rather than weekly. The settlement was filed for preliminary approval on May 2, 2013, and a hearing to preliminarily approve the settlement is scheduled for June 6, 2013. (Bolton v. U.S. Nursing Corp., N.D. Cal., No. 3:12-cv-04466).
Balancing the Pay Scale: 'Fair' vs. 'Unfair'
Whether you are a shelf stocker at Walmart, a second year associate at a consulting company or an equity analyst at an investment bank, you may feel that you are not adequately compensated for the work you do -- in other words, you are underpaid. But underpaid relative to what? How do employers determine compensation levels, and what consequences can these decisions have for the organization?
IRS Worker Classification Audits—Risks and Relief Options
The battle between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and taxpayers continues over independent contractor treatment. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the IRS has been making its rounds to small businesses, checking in to see if they have classified their workers correctly.
Affiliate Member News