The OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) argued in a recent court case that after it found a pattern of adverse impact in the hiring of women during a compliance review that it could legally demand more information. The agency added that it had the duty to investigate
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What constitutes a hostile work environment? Many Arizona employees have asked this question. The legal definition requires two conditions to exist. The Arizona employee must be the target of negative behavior due to his or her race, age (40-70), color, national origin, religion, disability, pregnancy or sex.
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Several employees in Louisiana have asked, “Exactly what is the legal definition of hostile work environment?” Confusion about this term is understandable, because it is often misused. Many workers assume that if their employer or coworkers behave badly they are creating a hostile work environment.
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Hawaii has no law that requires employees to be given one day off per week. Nor does the state limit the total number of hours that an employee can be required to work in the payroll week. However, the Hawaii split shift law permits an employer
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Many employees in general industry believe that by law they must be given 8 hours between work shifts to rest, but in most states including Arizona, this is not the case. A number of states have laws regarding the hours and days of rest that an employee
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The U.S. Department of Labor is interpreting exempt status much more narrowly in 2010 than in past years, a trend that is expected to continue. As most employers know, employees are entitled to overtime at 1.5 times their average hourly rate when they work more than 40
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Some 40 or more states in the U.S., including New Mexico, now have what are referred to as “mini-COBRA” laws. Mini-Cobra extends the advantages of the federal COBRA to employers with fewer than 20 workers enrolled in group health insurance plans. The New Mexico mini-COBRA provides healthcare
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Employees in companies with 20 or more workers enrolled in a health insurance plan have traditionally been able to continue their health insurance coverage for up to a year and a half through COBRA. Then mini-COBRA laws adopted by at least 40 states nationwide including California extended
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State legislatures are changing their mini-COBRA laws to make the transitional health insurance plan more affordable. There are roughly 40 states in the U.S., including Iowa, that have mini-COBRA laws now, which essentially extend the regular COBRA benefits to employers with fewer than 20 workers enrolled in
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States are making changes in their mini-COBRA laws to allow workers to take advantage of a new subsidy that reduces their COBRA health insurance costs. Since February of 2009, at least 18 states have ratified the change. The Kansas mini-COBRA covers employers with 2 to 19 employees,
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The Maine mini-COBRA law covers employers with 2 to 19 workers, and provides coverage for up to 12 months. Employers in Maine and elsewhere are advised to become familiar with what is referred to as the “mini-COBRA law.” Those employers who are conversant with COBRA will have
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The proper use of “comp time” (paid time off in a future payroll week as a substitute for paid overtime) is often the subject of confusion. It is not legal for a business in the U.S. to grant “comp time” instead of paying overtime. For example, Tom
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For more than 40 years it has been against the law in Illinois and throughout the U.S. to discriminate against employees based on their religion or religious practices. The applicable federal law is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law not only prohibits
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Small business owners need to update their Illinois minimum wage posters this summer as the state rate increased yet again. This summer, the minimum wage in Illinois is tied for fourth-highest in the U.S. Only Washington, Vermont and Oregon will have higher minimum wages. Illinois
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against employees due to race, color, sex, religion and country of origin. Under this law, any practice which discriminates against these groups in hiring, terminating, training, and other aspects of employment is illegal. Some Alaska employees
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According the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), employers can discriminate against employees because of their disabilities. This law covers all aspects of employment, such as wages, promotion, working conditions, benefits and training. The law doesn’t insist New Jersey employers hire disabled workers, but prevents them
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Personal employee data, such as disability status, race, age, religion, medical condition and background, are required by law to be kept confidential and separate from personnel files. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) are the relevant laws that require this
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Two federal laws, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require that certain employee information, including race, color, religion, disability status, background, credit and age be kept confidential and separate from personnel files. Illinois employees wonder how this information
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Alabama employees asked: are Muslim employees permitted to take prayer breaks at work? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that employers can not discriminate due to a worker’s religion. In Alabama, and throughout the country, employers must allow Muslim workers to take prayer
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against Ohio employees because of their race, sex, national origin, color or religion. Several recent court cases have dealt with the issue of religion, specifically with religion and dress code.
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The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave in a 12 month employee for most Texas employees. Under FMLA, a worker is guaranteed to return to his or her job with the same benefits, working conditions, and pay as
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While most Human Resources professionals agree that discrimination based on sexual orientation is not a wise practice, there is no federal law providing protection against such discrimination. Many private organizations have implemented policies prohibiting it. Some states and municipalities have statutes outlawing such
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There are many misunderstandings between employers and employees regarding written warnings. If a Utah employer must provide a worker with a written “warning,” the employee may believe that signing the warning is an admission of guilt. This is not true. Written warnings are used to show the
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Due to passage of the historic Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( ADA ) Oklahoma employers must make “reasonable accommodations” for an employee with disabilities. However what makes up a “reasonable accommodation” could differ from company to company. As an example, a realty company permits agents
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In Montana , if an employer chooses not to hire anyone under the age of 25, he or she is not prohibited by any federal or state law. Age discrimination is illegal. However, the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 only protects workers 40 older or more. Under
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There are no statutes under federal or Wyoming law that make it illegal to hire only workers who are at least 25 years old. Although such discrimination against younger workers is frowned upon, it is technically legal. An employer may feel this policy is necessary in order
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There are instances where employees believe that if they refuse to sign a disciplinary warning, the warning will not be held against them. This is not true because signing a written “warning” is not an admission of guilt. The written warning is merely used as a tool
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Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Oregon employers are not allowed to discriminate against employees based on color, race, sex or national origin. Discrimination against an employee in the workplace based on his or her religion is also illegal. This law mandates that
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Most companies use written “warnings” to provide the employee with a notice that improvement is necessary. Usually, the warnings are very specific about the deficiencies that must be corrected, such as absenteeism or tardiness.
Some employees believe that signing the warning is an admission of guilt and if they
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The law Texas employers should keep in mind in regard to employees with disabilities is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This law requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with disabilities. However, what defines these “accommodations” varies from workplace to workplace.
