House and Senate Absent From D.C. While Shutdown Looms. The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are out this week, and we are once again on the verge of a (partial) government shutdown. If a deal—likely a fourth continuing resolution—isn’t agreed to next week upon the U.S. Congress’s return,
Archives for February 25, 2024
Federal Regulators Unveil Revised Final Guidance for Healthcare Cybersecurity and HIPAA Compliance
On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a new, final version of their guidance for regulated healthcare entities to follow to improve cybersecurity and compliance with the Health Insurance
Continuing Privacy Headache for Ordering Criminal Background Checks in California
Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County.1 This will result from the drastic impact of the court of appeal’s 2021 opinion in All of Us or None v.
Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget Proposal Calls for Significant Changes to New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program
NY budget amendment proposal would make significant changes to the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. Potential changes would impact the home health industry, including, among other changes, eliminating the FI RFO, providing daily and weekly work hour limits and prohibiting entities from engaging in multiple types of healthcare services.
California Civil Rights Department Issues Clarifications on California Pay Data Reports
It’s almost spring, and you know what that means! It’s almost time to file the California pay data reports. Last year was the first year for filing expanded pay data reports under SB1162, which requires private employers with 100 or more employees to file a report with the Civil Rights
DEI Under Scrutiny, Part VI: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case Over Race-Neutral Measures Allegedly Intended to Increase Racial Diversity
The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review a case alleging that facially race-neutral admissions criteria at a selective Virginia public high school were unlawfully intended to strike a racial balance, leaving questions over race-neutral policies following the Court’s June 2023 decision striking down race-based admissions in higher
Deadline Extended: Vote for #LaborOscars2024 Now!!!
To give more Power At Work Blog subscribers and friends-of-the-blog time to vote for their favorite labor movies as part of #LaborOscars2024, we have extended the voting deadline until 11:59 PM ET on Wednesday, February 28th.
Don’t miss your chance to participate in #LaborOscars2024: the movie awards that focus on
How to Avoid a DEI Disaster Like the MS Society Just Had
DEI. Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today, many organizations want a strong DEI program to help bring people together and demonstrate that they accept people of all cultures.
But the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society recently forgot what those words “diversity, equity, and inclusion” mean — to their detriment. It’s a valuable lesson for how not
How You Can Avoid an Employee Mass Exodus
I’m watching a smallish business in its death throes. There are about 50 employees, and I thought they might be able to turn it around, but the entire production team resigned, one after another. I don’t know if they will be able to persuade a couple to stay or if
EEOC Sues Gracious Bakery for Pregnancy Discrimination
NEW ORLEANS – Gracious, LLC, a company based in New Orleans and doing business as Gracious Bakery + Café, violated federal law when it fired an employee because of a medical condition related to her pregnancy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed February 16,
What Is Shift Shock?
When you take on a new job, then quickly feel regret and remorse about your decision, you’re in shift shock.
Are You Being Emotionally Manipulated at Work?
Protect yourself with these five strategies.
Quiet quitting among the highest-paid workers is driving the average workweek to pre-pandemic levels
With the unemployment rate near a 50-year low and businesses hiring left and right, it would seem the American worker is hustling like never before just to keep up with the rising cost of living.
What Is the Civil Rights Act of 1964? What’s Included and History
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation that addressed the prejudice occurring in society in the U.S. at the time. Through its 11 titles, it banned discrimination and segregation based on race, religion, natural origin, and sex in employment and in all public places, such as schools, hotels, restaurants, churches, and hospitals.
Employers are hiding a secret about strict return-to-office mandates—they’re probably bluffing about how many days they want you back
White-collar workers are getting used to recognizing the signs that remote work is dying—and lately, it’s coming in the form of CEO memos demanding a return to the office.