Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

November 17, 2009

58 view(s)

GAO Faults OSHA for Its Injury-Illness Audits

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report faulting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its handling of the injury-illness reports it collects each year from the nation's businesses. Each year OSHA audits about 250 of the injury-illness reports it receives from approximately 130,000 high-hazard work sites in the United States. The GAO audit of these ...

November 13, 2009

55 view(s)

Bills Introduced to Extend COBRA Subsidy, Length

COBRA subsidy

Two bills in the House of Representatives aim to extend the eligibility date for subsidies of COBRA health coverage through June 31, 2010. Currently, those involuntarily discharged from their jobs are eligible for a 65-percent subsidy of COBRA health care only if they are terminated by Dec. 31, 2009. Both HR 3930 and HR 3966 embrace the new cut-off date but approach matters a bit diff...

November 12, 2009

70 view(s)

Insider Identity Theft Accounts for 70% of ID Crime

identity theft Red Flags Rule

Don't let the fox guard the hen house. According to "identity theft expert" Robert Siciliano: "As much as 70 percent of all identity theft is committed by someone with inside access to organizations such as corporations, banks, or government agencies, or by someone who has an existing relationship with the victim. People with access to sensitive personal data are most likely to ...

November 11, 2009

43 view(s)

ICE Deal Saves Managers from Doing Hard Time

E-Verify I-9 ICE USCIS

Think that maintaining properly vetted I-9 forms on your employees isn't that big a deal? The answer --it is a big deal--has been driven home forcefully to management at Columbia Farms in Columbia, S.C. After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in 2008 discovered hundreds of illegal immigrants working at the poultry plant, most of the workers were deported, dozens of others were t...

November 10, 2009

35 view(s)

Wal-Mart Comes Under Fire for Sick Leave Policy

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is coming under fire during the H1N1 flu season for its sick-leave policy, which awards demerits for sick days and forces workers to use a floating holiday or vacation day for the first day out (or forfeit their pay for the day). After the first day, the company does offer paid sick leave, but it's that first day that forces employees to choose whether t...

November 4, 2009

50 view(s)

Majority of Businesses Plan to End Salary Freezes

An October survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt found that 54 percent of employers plan to end salary freezes within six months, up from 33 percent in August. Some 49 percent, just shy of a majority, also said they plan to end hiring freezes in the same time frame. Overall, 56 percent of those surveyed reported that they had enacted both hiring and salary freezes in response to the economic d...

November 4, 2009

27 view(s)

Bill Would Require Paid Sick Leave for H1N1 Sufferers

A bill has been introduced by one of the authors of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) to require employers to provide up to five paid sick days for employees sent home with the H1N1 influenza. The emergency measure, which would also extend to sufferers of any other infectious disease, would be the first paid sick leave law on the national statutes. The author, Representative George Miller (D....

November 3, 2009

63 view(s)

Wal-Mart Agrees to Another $85 Million Wage Settlement

unpaid wages wage theft Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has agreed to, and a judge approved, a plan to settle unpaid-wage lawsuits for up to $85 million. The lawsuits, 30 in all that were combined into one before U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas, alleged time clock manipulation and denial of rest periods to workers in several states. Lawyers for the plaintiffs will share in one-third of the pot. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal...

November 2, 2009

71 view(s)

HIPAA/ARRA Interim Final Rule Published

breach violations HIPAA OCR

Implementing changes to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) contained in the stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Oct. 30, 2009, published its Interim Final Rule in the Federal Register. The Final Rule expands the power of the Health and Human Services Secretary to impose civil penalties ...

October 30, 2009

53 view(s)

BP Slapped With Largest Fine in OSHA History

BP largest OSHA fine ever OSHA

BP is the recipient of the largest fine in OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) history--$87 million, or four times the previous record--for a 2005 accident at a refinery in Texas City, Texas, that claimed 15 workers' lives. The fines were levied for BP's alleged failure to correct 271 hazards ($56.7 million) and for another 439 "willful and egregious" violat...

309 of 329

Options

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

EEOC Rescinds Permissible Affirmative Action Guidance

On June 30, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officially rescinded two longstanding documents relating to permissible affirmative action. The documents were part of the EEOC's guidance on affirmative action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

DOJ Challenges EEOC's Stance on Disparate Impact Claims

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued a legal opinion that may signal major changes ahead in federal workplace discrimination enforcement. In a June 9, 2026 memorandum, the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) expressed the opinion that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's...

Department of Labor Issues 2026 Civil Penalty Update: No Adjustments This Year

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published its annual update announcement regarding federal civil monetary penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. In a notice published in the Federal Register on May 27th, 2026, the DOL announced that no penalty increases...

U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Opinion Letters on Overtime Exemptions, Bonuses, and Compensable Time

On May 29th, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released several new opinion letters addressing key wage & hour issues. Specifically, one of the four documents informed readers whether an exempt employee could perform additional work in a secondary role at an hourly rate and still be eligible...

EEOC Issues New National Enforcement Plan Through 2029

On June 4th, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan (NEP). The NEP sets the EEOC’s specific subject-matter priorities from June through fiscal year 2029.

View All Articles