Articles and Blogs

President Obama’s latest Executive Order  (“EO”) is entitled “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” but its requirements on federal contractors go beyond compensation and safety.  The good news is that implementation of these new requirements is not expected to be begin until 2016.  By then, we hope to have new regulations that better explain the... READ MORE

Unlawful Interference Private employees have the right to engage – or not to engage – in activities in support of a union or each other relating to wages, hours and working conditions.  It’s unlawful for private employers to “interfere” with those rights.  Spying on employees or even just creating the impression of surveillance has... READ MORE

Nearly all hospitals are prohibited by federal law from discriminating in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, ethnicity, disability and age.  Those that have certain types of federal contracts must go further by engaging in affirmative action.  Compliance with federal affirmative action laws is difficult and expensive, especially when audits are involved.  Unfortunately... READ MORE

Time to Get Serious The NLRB has scheduled two days for public comment on the proposed “Quickie Election Rule” that we reported in our article “Quickie Election Rule II” – The NLRB Tries Again earlier this month.  The meetings will be held in Washington D. C. on April 10 and 11.  The deadline for written comments... READ MORE

The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board (“MEB”) recently approved significant changes to the regulations governing, among other things, the physician supervision requirements of physician assistants (“PAs”).  The modifications increase the number of on-duty PAs a physician can supervise at the same time and change the requirements for documenting the supervision.  The revised regulations also simplify... READ MORE

“Your leadership style is not in accordance with company practices.” This is what an HR Director was told when he was terminated after his company learned that he was “stressing out” two of his assistant HR managers.  The tense work environment that he created caused both managers to seek counseling and each had begun... READ MORE

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the retirement plan limits for 2014, some of which are unchanged from 2013.  The Social Security Administration has also announced the Social Security wage base for 2014.  The following are some key retirement plan dollar limits for 2014 for retirement plan sponsors and participants, along with the prior... READ MORE

Sports Analogy Can Have Multiple Meanings In sports, a coach will sometimes tell a player to just “walk it off” or “push through” the pain when a minor injury happens in a game or in practice.  One Florida insurance company found out that the world of sports and the world of employment are not... READ MORE

While alcoholism has long been considered an impairment, plaintiffs have had limited success establishing that alcoholism is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). However, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) significantly expanded the number of protected individuals under the Act. Instead of focusing on whether an individual qualifies as... READ MORE

Because flu season can begin as early as October, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), employers are already beginning to consider their approach to mandatory vaccinations for the 2013-2014 season. Do you know where your state stands on the issue? READ MORE