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Employment Law

Discrimination: Title VII

01/04/2015

HR Law 101: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. An array of federal and state laws further refine the definition of discrimination …

Civil Rights Act: Overview

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on race, national origin and religion. The law applies to all employers that have at least 15 full- or part-time workers and includes U.S. companies that employ Americans abroad …

Fair Labor Standards Act: Overview

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers the federal minimum wage, rules on overtime pay and child labor regulations. Since the U.S. Department of Labor recently overhauled the overtime rules, it’s critical to make sure you’re properly classifying workers as exempt or nonexempt …

Sexual Harassment: Overview

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Courts are increasingly taking a dim view of employers that don’t take decisive action to prevent sexual harassment …

Pension Benefits: ERISA Rules

01/03/2015

HR Law 101: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governs the administration of employee retirement plans. Pension plans fall into two major categories: qualified and nonqualified plans …

FLSA: Calculating Hours Worked

01/02/2015
HR Law 101: To ensure you’re in compliance with the FLSA, it’s important to understand the definition of “hours of work.” Any hour when an employee’s on duty is considered time worked. The only period usually excluded: when an employee uses the time for personal reasons …

Labor Minister looks to stop after-hours emails with “anti-stress regulation”

01/01/2015
To safeguard the leisure of citizens already guaranteed four weeks of vacation per year, German Labor Minister Andrea Nahles is calling for an “anti-stress regulation” that would bar employers from sending email to employees after 6 p.m.

Workers’ Safety and Health

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Employers have an obligation to provide a safe work environment for their employees. Those that don’t will pay a heavy price. Their workers’ compensation and other liability insurance costs will rise, workers may sue, and OSHA may impose heavy fines.

Fire at Will Doctrine

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Under the law in most states, if there’s no employment contract, workers are employed on an “at-will” basis. That means employers have the right to fire employees at any time for any reason or no reason, and, conversely, employees have the right to leave the organization at any time …

Workplace Drug Testing

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Drug testing and substance abuse prevention programs can involve substantial legal liability if employers don’t manage and administer them properly. If your organization decides to implement a drug testing program, there are ways to minimize the risk of employee lawsuits …