Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

December 7, 2011

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EEOC Letter Suggests Requiring a HS Diploma for a Job May Be Discriminatory

Businesses often and routinely require job applicants to possess a high school diploma for certain positions, but a Dec. 2 opinion letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicates that this requirement may be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The reasoning behind this, according to the author, EEOC attorney-advisor Aaron Konopasky, is that some i...

December 6, 2011

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Most Breached OSHA Standards, Most Fined OSHA Violations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released its annual list of the most frequently cited standards violations, along with its list of the most heavily fined OSHA standards violations. The most frequently cited violations comprise fall protection; scaffolding; hazard communication standard; lockout/tagout; electrical; powered industrial trucks; ladders; electrical syste...

December 4, 2011

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HHS Releases Final Rule on Medical Loss Ratio on Health Insurance

In a rebuff to insurance agents who pleaded that their commissions should not be included in the administrative expense ratio of health insurance policies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday (Dec. 3, 2011) issued final regulations locking in stone the 80/20 ration envisioned by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Instead of excluding them, the HHS fi...

December 1, 2011

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NLRB Passes Resolution to Expedite Procedures Leading to a Union Organizing Vote

By a 2-to-1 vote along party lines, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) yesterday passed a "Chairman's Resolution" that consolidates many of the administrative and legal wranglings that typically occur leading up to a vote on union organizing at a worksite. The six amendments in the resolution are "all aimed at reducing unnecessary litigation in election cases before th...

November 30, 2011

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San Francisco to Have Highest Minimum Wage in 2012

Eight states are set to raise their minimum hourly wage rates on Jan. 1, 2012, with Washington topping the list at $9.04 an hour, but San Francisco is the lone governmental entity with a minimum wage above the 10-dollar range. Though other cities enforce "living wages" for businesses that do contracted work for them, San Francisco enforces a general minimum wage on all enterprises, an...

November 29, 2011

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Time to Update Your Employee Handbook for 2012

Human resource and employment law professionals are urging businesses to review their employee handbooks for the upcoming year in light of several changes in the field of social media policy over the past 12 months. As many of you know, the National Labor Relations Board—in addition to mandating a new Employee Rights Poster—has clarified what is considered "protected concerted ...

November 28, 2011

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Supreme Court to Decide Issue of Pharma Reps' Overtime Status

Federal appeals courts have ruled differently on the issue of whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are or are not exempt from the overtime pay provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), so today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the issue. The case in question is Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. Christopher and other such plaintiffs argue that their positions do no...

November 27, 2011

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OSHA Issues Guidelines for Workplace Violence Inspections

Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued no standard on workplace violence, it has cited certain companies for failure to prevent violence under section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, generally known as the general duty clause. Stepping into the breach to prevent future incidents of violence, especially homicide, OSHA has instructed its inspectors on when it is prop...

November 27, 2011

30 view(s)

OSHA Smartphone App Said to Cost $200K and Not Be Accurate

A smartphone app introduced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to measure heat safety in work environments reportedly cost $200,000 to develop and returns inaccurate readings of temperatures. Of course, this information comes courtesy of a hacker who runs a job board called gun.jo and whose name is Rich Jones. "When I first tried the application, it told me that it...

November 22, 2011

23 view(s)

EEOC and OFCCP Sign New MOU on Joint Discrimination Case Jurisdiction

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) to settle jurisdictional issues that arise when overlapping discrimination claims are filed. Generally, this occurs when the discrimination charge reported to the OFCCP involves violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of ...

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