Articles by WorkWise Compliance team

The Obama administration's plan to thrust millions of salaried workers into the non-exempt status that entitles them to overtime pay has been delayed until late 2016, according to Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith. Speaking at the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Conference in Philadelphia this week, Smith elicited gasps from the audience when she made her comment in front of th...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, using executive fiat, has set in motion a plan to raise the minimum wage for all state workers to $15 an hour by no later than 2021. Once implemented, the minimum wage will affect some 10,000 workers statewide, about 6.5 percent of the entire New York work force. According to the executive order, state workers in New York City would get $15 an hour by the end of 201...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking comments on a draft document intended to help employers develop a program to protect employees from retaliation when they raise concerns about workplace conditions or activities that could harm workers or members of the public. Protecting Whistleblowers: Recommended Practices for Employers for Preventing and Addressing Retalia...

Initiative 20, the "State Health Care System," will be on the November 2016 ballot in Colorado after supporters collected 158,831 voters' signatures, some 60,000 more than the 98,492 needed. The Secretary of State on Monday projected the valid-signature total would equal 110 percent of the number needed and certified the initiative for the ballot. Under Initiative 20's ColoradoCare, state resi...

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans today upheld a federal judge's injunction against President Obama's immigration executive orders of 2014, putting a permanent hold on the plans while awaiting trial in Texas. The president's plan, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, would have allowed for more than 4 million undocumented immigrants...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated its hazard communication web page to include easier access to topics on the agency’s revised standard. OSHA updated its Hazard Communication Standard in 2012. The new page has tabs directing users to various letters of interpretation, guidance documents and frequently asked questions regarding requirements in the rule. The up...

The fate of another Obamacare provision may well rest in the hands of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, just as it has three times in the past when he was the deciding vote on the legality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This time the Obamacare provision under review is the workaround rule devised to provide contraceptive services for employees at institutions objecting to artif...

A federal judge in California has set June 20, 2016, as the date to hear a class-action lawsuit challenging ride-sharing service Uber and its driver classification as independent contractors. The lawsuit seeks full employee status with wages, overtime and other labor law rights for Uber drivers who haven't signed a waiver. The case, O'Connor v. Uber, could have a wide-ranging impact on Uber o...

Beginning today, HealthCare.gov is piloting a new beta feature that allows consumers to search plans by their preferred provider or health facility. Some consumers will be part of a pilot that allows them to use the beta Doctor Lookup feature as they compare their coverage options in window shopping or when selecting a plan. “The Doctor Lookup feature at HealthCare.gov is a direct result of co...

As part of the budget reconciliation signed on Monday by President Obama, fines for safety and other violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act will be raised significantly. The budget included a bill entitled "Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Acts of 2015," which allows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) a "catch up adjustment" (p...