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Employment Law

DOL investigators target restaurants, recover $2.25 million in just one week

09/09/2024
The Department of Labor’s crackdown on the restaurant industry continues. Over the course of just a week in late August, the DOL secured more than $2.25 million in back pay, damages and penalties from restaurateurs who cheated employees out of tips, failed to pay for overtime hours and illegally employed minors.

Twist: Disabled worker wants to work on-site, not from home

09/06/2024
Disabled employees are entitled to enjoy all “privileges of employment.” Excluding them from training, company events, team-building activities and other employment benefits may amount to disability discrimination. Thus, disability accommodations that deprive them of employment privileges may violate the ADA. Ordinarily, the employer gets to choose the accommodation it prefers, but there are limits, as this recent case shows.

New Illinois law highlights AI traps for employers

09/03/2024
On Aug. 9, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to limit how employers can use AI in hiring, promotion, retention and discipline. Any AI use that discriminates on the basis of protected status is now illegal.

DOL’s 80/20 tip-credit rule overturned

08/30/2024
A federal appeals court on Aug. 23 struck down a Department of Labor rule governing how tipped workers must be paid for performing work for which they cannot receive tips.

More states ramp up pay-transparency requirements

08/30/2024
The push for pay equity is gaining momentum in statehouses nationwide. Several states have enacted legislation that prohibits employers from using new employees’ past compensation to set starting salaries and requiring them to disclose their starting pay ranges.

Back-to-school: How to manage leave requests

08/30/2024
The start of each school year brings new responsibilities that pull employees away from work. You may try to be flexible with your parent-workers, but how far you bend depends in large part on whether employees are nonexempt or exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state short-term leave laws.

CDC: More than 1 in 4 Americans have a disability

08/26/2024
A CDC statement said, “These findings underscore the fact that people with disabilities are a large part of every community and population. Many of us know, or are, someone with a disability, and disability inclusion is beneficial for all.”

Avoid the accommodations error that just cost Wells Fargo $22.1 million

08/26/2024
The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process with disabled employees to determine what accommodation, if any, will allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. It’s supposed to be a back-and-forth dialogue and it’s supposed to be fast. Delaying the interactive process or reaching an agreement and then slow-walking implementation is sure to spell legal trouble.

Bosses’ personal assets are at risk! How to dodge the spike in wage-and-hour lawsuits

08/23/2024
Want to stop bosses from allowing off-the-clock work or looking the other way when employees work unpaid overtime? Remind them that, unlike some other employment laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act lets employees sue supervisors (and HR professionals like you) personally—not just the organization itself.

Pay equity trends and data: What HR departments need to know

08/22/2024
While HR professionals are likely aware of the rising trend and growth of pay transparency laws, pay equity laws are rising as well. Joanna Colosimo, vice president of workforce equity and compliance strategy at DCI Consulting, dug into this issue during a session at SHRM’s annual conference this past June.