Archive for July 2015
Employee or Contractor? Guidelines Employers Need to Know
released a new series of guidelines for helping employers to determine whether the individuals that work for them should be classified as “employees” or “independent contractors.” In 2014, the Department of Labor required companies to pay 109,000 misclassified workers more than $79 million in back pay. The Department has found that often, employees are misclassified…
Read MoreWhite House initiates programs for prevention of elder abuse, fraud
rought together a panel to discuss the problems of elder abuse and how to protect senior citizens from financial fraud. “Often, victims are fearful of reporting abuse from a caregiver because the caregiver is the one they depend on for the activities of daily living,” said panelist Lynne Person, the D.C. Department of Health Care’s…
Read MoreOregon: drug-testing policies won’t change for state jobs
went into effect at the beginning of July, many state employers have begun releasing memos re-stating their drug policies and reminding employees that nothing is likely to change in those policies. Employers are still allowed to conduct drug tests, and ensure their employees show up for work sober, though some acknowledge that what an employee…
Read MoreOPM breach affected far more individuals than previously reported
Office of Personnel Management’s security breach had affected up to 14 million citizens. Now, it looks like those numbers were vastly underestimated; allegedly up to a whopping 32 million former, current and prospective federal employees may have been affected, according to the latest numbers. Those numbers may also include those who enlisted — or attempted…
Read MorePennsylvania Governor approves clarifications to background checks
child-protective background checking law. Despite the original law’s intention to protect children from sexual predators by requiring volunteers to undergo criminal history and state police background checks, there was much confusion regarding who the law should apply to, and which types of jobs required mandatory screening. “We thought we’d been specific … giving kind of…
Read MoreStates’, federal protection laws the next battlefield for LGBT community
that same-sex couples have the right to marry was one hard-fought battle won for the LGBT community. However, the U.S. still has a ways to go in protecting the rights of every one of its citizens, especially when it comes to employment discrimination. “We have a crazy quilt of laws in this country when it…
Read MoreJune 2015: unemployment rate down to 5.3 percent for first time in years
release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has dropped 0.2 points down to 5.3 percent, the lowest the unemployment rate has been since April 2008. Last month, 223,000 new non-farming jobs were created, dropping the number of unemployed people down to 8.3 million. The majority of the new positions were available…
Read MoreGovernment agencies to send aid to drought-stricken states on west coast
Seven states on the west coast — including California, Oregon and Washington — are set to receive aid from various federal agencies due to extreme drought conditions. The Obama administration has already earmarked $110 million for the relief efforts, to be distributed through various federal agencies with varying goals for the funds. The U.S. Department…
Read MoreOregon aims to ‘ban the box’
passed a statewide “ban the box” law, which would prevent employers from asking job applicants if they have a criminal record prior to an interview or — sans interview — a conditional offer of employment. Most employers in the state would be required to remove any questions about a candidate’s criminal history from its job…
Read MoreColo. Supreme Court: Employment policies trump medical marijuana laws
Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that employers may lawfully terminate employees that fail drug tests due to marijuana usage, even if the drug is only used outside of working hours. The Court determined that zero-tolerance policies trump the legal usage of medical marijuana within the state. The case was brought before the Court by Brandon…
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