Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

June 8, 2013

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Oregon Joins Parade Against Employer Requests for Social Media Passwords

States are rushing to restrict employer requests for social media access from new hires and employees, and Oregon has now joined the growing list of states banning employers from prying into personal accounts. In a law signed May 22 and taking effect Jan. 1, 2014, Oregon is making it an unlawful employment practice for employers to compel employees or applicants for employment to provide ...

June 7, 2013

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OSHA Budget Justification Shows Emphasis on Inspections, Enforcement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) yesterday published a 2014 Budget Justification to make its case for an upcoming fiscal 2014 budget of $570,519,000. The justification cited a recent Science magazine article that claimed safety inspections result in safer workplaces and save companies' big dollars in workers' compensation costs. The Justification specified ...

June 6, 2013

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Connecticut Minimum Wage to Rise to $9 an Hour Over Two Years

Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy today signed legislation raising the state minimum wage to $9 an hour over the next two years. The rate will rise to $8.70 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2014, and to $9 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2015. ”This gradual increase over two years is a balanced approach to helping hard working men and women without adversely impacting the business community,&qu...

June 3, 2013

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Which Cities Are Best for Male-Female Wage Parity?

While no city on average offers equal pay for the sexes, some fare much better than others, according to a study recently released by financial information company NerdWallet. In the big-city category, it's probably not surprising that Washington, D.C. ranks at top, with a median female salary of $55,688, or 81.9 percent of the average salary of males in the nation's capital. Afte...

May 31, 2013

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Government Issues Final Rules on Employment-Based Wellness Programs

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury have issued final rules on employment-based wellness programs. The final rules support workplace health promotion and prevention as a means to reduce the burden of chronic illness, improve health and limit growth of health care costs, while ensuring that individuals are protected from unfair underwriting practices that ...

May 31, 2013

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HHS Delays Part of Small Business Health Insurance Exchange Program

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today postponed a legislated feature of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), a health insurance marketplace for small businesses and their employees included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), labeling it too complicated to implement at this time. The SHOP exchanges are set to operate along with th...

May 30, 2013

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Nevada Bans Most Job-Related Credit Checks

Nevada has just become the tenth state to ban most credit background checks by state employers effective Oct. 1, 2013. Originally, Senate Bill 127 banned every form of credit check by every form of employer, but in a subsequent compromise, financial institutions and casinos were granted exemptions for "job-related" inquiries. Except for these exemptions, the law prohibits ev...

May 29, 2013

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EEOC Settles GINA Discrimination Case

GINA

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently settled its first discrimination lawsuit based on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), but in truth, it came upon the triggering violation almost by accident. When Rhonda Jones filed a charge with the EEOC based upon a rescinded-job-offer violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC looked int...

May 29, 2013

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Colorado Becomes Ninth State to Restrict Credit Checks in Hiring

A law effective this July 1 will restrict the the rights of employers in Colorado to conduct background credit checks during the hiring or promotion process except for limited exemptions. Employers will not be allowed to run credit checks unless they 1) are a bank or financial institution, 2) are required by law to run such a check, or 3) can prove that the credit report is "substant...

May 28, 2013

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Pre-Populated I-9 Forms No Longer Acceptable, ICE Announces

The Worksite Investigation Enforcement Unit of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has come out in the past month against the pre-population of information on Section 1 of the Form I-9, the employment eligibility verification document used for all new hires. ICE maintains, in a break with past policy, that each new hire must complete Section 1 in his or her own handwritin...

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