Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

October 4, 2011

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Colorado, Montana to Adjust Minimum Wage to Consumer Price Index

Colorado Minimum Wage Order Number 28 establishes a new state minimum wage rate of $7.64 per hour and $4.62 per hour for employees who regularly receive tips, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Montana will similarly raise its minimum wage by 30 cents to $7.65 an hour. Both states are basing the increases on inflationary effects on the economy. Specifically, the increase in the minimum wage is based upon ...

October 3, 2011

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Failure to Return Employee Phone Calls May Constitute FMLA Retaliation

A recent court case sets a precedent that an employer who fails to return phone calls from employees on FMLA leave may be liable for FMLA retaliation claims. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows qualifying employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with their own health issues or those of family members. In this case, a nurse took her full 12 weeks because of hearing pro...

October 1, 2011

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Washington Minimum Wage to Rise to $9.04 an Hour on Jan. 1

Following one day after Oregon raised its minimum wage, Washington announced it was hiking its minimum hourly rate to $9.04 to adjust for inflation as tracked by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rate, up from the current $8.67, is effective Jan. 1, 2012. Washington and Oregon ($8.80 in 2012) have the two highest state minimum wages in the nation. Washington update subscribers will receive th...

September 30, 2011

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Oregon Minimum Wage to Rise to $8.80 an Hour in 2012

Oregon will hike its minimum wage by 30 cents to $8.80 an hour come Jan. 1, 2012, adjusting the rate for 3.77-percent inflation as recorded by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the period ending Aug. 30, 2011. Oregon is one of 10 states to hitch its minimum wage to the CPI. Washington, also one of the 10, will announce its increase today. The CPI, published by the United States Bureau of Labor...

September 29, 2011

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Supreme Court to Review Individual Mandate of PPACA

POTUS beseeched SCOTUS on Wednesday (Sept. 28, 2011) to review the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' August ruling that the individual mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is unconstitutional. When a Monday deadline passed for the Obama administration to ask the 11th Circuit Court to rehear the case, it became clear that the goal was for the Supreme Court...

September 28, 2011

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DOL Withdraws Its Fiduciary Re-Definition but Plans to Resubmit It, Modified

The Department of Labor (DOL) has temporarily withdrawn its proposed new definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974—one that would have embraced even realtors—but still plans to modify and reissue the definition next year. Under the proposed regulations, a person rendering advice on an ERISA plan would have been treated as a fiduciary...

September 27, 2011

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OSHA Extends Commentary Period on Proposed Injury-Illness Reporting Rule

At the request of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is extending by 30 days the public commentary period on its proposed new injury and illness reporting requirement. The proposed rule would shrink the number of industries exempt from OSHA's injury and illness reporting requirements and would also amend the threshold...

September 26, 2011

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IRS Establishes Worker Misclassification Amnesty Program

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has commenced a program by which companies can admit to having misclassified workers as independent contractors and settle up by paying a portion of back taxes owed, thereby avoiding most penalties and fees assessed during an audit. There are strings attached, of course. The company applying for the amnesty cannot be undergoing any current IRS or Department of...

September 22, 2011

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OSHA Updates Its Whistleblower Investigation Instructions and Standards

whistleblowers

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new edition of its Whistleblower Investigations Manual, one of a series of measures to improve OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program that were announced in August. The new edition of the manual contains updates to case handling procedures, information on the new laws enacted since the manual ...

September 21, 2011

98 view(s)

Tyson to Pay $32 Million to Settle Donning-Doffing Lawsuit

donning and doffing time Perdue Farms Tyson

When Perdue Farms in 2002 settled with the Department of Labor (DOL) on back-paying its workers for the time spent donning and doffing required personal protective equipment (PPE), Tyson didn't read the tea leaves and refused to pay its workers for donning-doffing time. The piper came calling this week as Tyson was forced into a settlement similar to Perdue Farms' agreement--to the tune...

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