Articles by Girish Anand

October 7, 2009

43 view(s)

Democrats Seek to Overturn Supreme Court's Age Discrimination Ruling

Business cheered the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. F.B.L. Financial Services that set the bar higher for age discrimination claims by employees. Prior to Gross, employees need merely show in court that age was one factor in their adverse job decision (a firing or passing over for promotion, for instance). Now they must show that it was the main factor. Failing that proof, a trial cannot ...

October 7, 2009

23 view(s)

Faking a Sick Day? You've Got a 15% Chance of Getting Fired

fake illnesses sick leave

About one-third of all employees who call in sick are faking it, a percentage that has held steady over the years. However, the chances of getting fired for abusing sick-day privileges are falling, down from 18 percent a year ago to 15 percent today, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, a jobs site. The number of U.S. employers who check up on absent workers declined to 29 percent this ...

October 6, 2009

39 view(s)

Feds Clarify Rules on Contractor E-Verify Mandate

E-Verify E-Verify contractor rule

The E-Verify online employee status system faced two new hurdles in September. On Sept. 8, the E-Verify Contractor Rule was set to go into effect but faced last-minute court challenges, and on Sept. 31 funding for the system itself was in danger of expiring. On the first issue, the courts sided with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in allowing the contractor mandate...

October 2, 2009

34 view(s)

Failure to Display Labor Law Posters Costs Hotel Big in Court Case

Here's a case that hinged on the statute of limitations for employment-based lawsuits--and how failure to post a basic federal and state labor law poster cost The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic CIty big time. Two Chinese national employees were dismissed by the hotel after one, a male chef, accused the other, a female room attendant, of sexual advances. After eventually speaking to lawyers, both fi...

October 1, 2009

39 view(s)

Sears Hit With Largest ADA Fine Ever at $6.2 Million

Sears Holdings Inc., without admitting any wrongdoing, has settled an Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) claim for $6.2 million, the largest single fine in history according to the enforcing agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC claims the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer fired hundreds of employees who took workers’ compensation leave after being in...

September 30, 2009

29 view(s)

Majority of Workers Say Employers Lack H1N1 Preparations

Worse, nearly 85 percent of those surveyed by Mansfield Communications said they feel pressured to come to work even if they come down with the H1N1 swine flu because of the tough economy. Nearly 70 percent also said their employers have communicated nothing and made no preparations for a possible swine flu resurgence. On a more positive note, 80 percent said they felt knowledgeable about what...

September 29, 2009

40 view(s)

DOL Recovers $1.4 Billion in Lost Wages Over Eight Years

The Department of Labor (DOL) and its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered some $1.4 billion in unpaid overtime and other wages in the eight-year period ending in 2008, and that was under the Bush administration, which has been accused of lax enforcement by the incoming Obama administration and its DOL secretary, Hilda Solis. Accordingly, Secretary Solis has beefed up the ranks of the WH...

September 28, 2009

27 view(s)

Baby Boomers Turn to Social Security When Downsized

The Social Security system has been deluged by unemployed Baby Boomers--many of whom would still be working in better times--who are signing up for retirement benefits at a record clip. Social Security applications are up 23 percent this year, and disability applications up 20 percent. As a result, the system projects deficits of $10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in 2011. Not to worry, however...

September 25, 2009

20 view(s)

The Next Time Somone Requests a Religious Accommodation...

Be careful. Here's the official Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) definition given at a recent training seminar: Religion includes not only traditional organized religion, but also "moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views." Note that just about any belief, including atheism, ...

September 24, 2009

29 view(s)

HHS Interim Final Rule Provides Cover for HIPAA Breaches

They ain't publicizing it, but it's there: A harm threshold in the Interim Final Rule published yesterday (Sept. 23, 2009) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that lets covered entities avoid ever admitting to a private health information (PHI) breach. The secret? Just encrypt the data. As the Interim Final Rule says, it wants to save the public from being “flooded with n...

203 of 221

Options

About author

Girish Anand

Recent Articles

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

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.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

View All Articles

Articles by Girish Anand