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Mar 01 2012
Leave LawsQ&A

Should we add GINA warnings to our FMLA forms?

A:Don’t Ask:  For any kind of medical exam of a worker, you must instruct the health care provider not to collect genetic information, such as family medical history, in order to determine the worker’s ability to do the job.  On our Model Form, “Fitness-for-Duty Report” (Don’t Ask or Tell: For medical certification of the employee’s…

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Mar 01 2012
Leave Laws

New FMLA forms? Not really

You may have heard that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued “new” model forms for employers to use under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), after the “old” forms expired on December 31, 2011. Don’t get too excited; the only thing that has happened is that the Office of Management and…

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Feb 28 2012
Drug and Alcohol

FMCSA clarifies drug testing regulations

Clarifies that drivers are prohibited from using drugs on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Schedule I list under any circumstances. Schedule 1 drugs are those that the DEA says have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use. Examples include marijuana, heroin, LSD, peyote, methamphetamines, and ecstasy. For other drugs and…

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Feb 17 2012
Employee Benefits

Health care reform: new guidance issued

The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury (IRS) and Labor (DOL) have jointly issued new guidance on a variety of topics under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (77 Fed Reg 8668). Key points include: Automatic enrollment: IRS confirms that it plans to permit employers to use employees’ Form W-2…

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Feb 14 2012
Washington

WASHINGTON: Employers must abate serious violations during appeal

Pursuant to a new rule adopted by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), employers will be required to abate certain safety violations even if they are appealing the citation. The rule implements a recently enacted state law (SSB 5068, 2011 Wash Laws Ch. 91).  The law already took effect on July 22, 2011,…

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Feb 08 2012
Affirmative ActionHiring

Affirmative Action: Longshore company to pay $219,000 to settle hiring discrimination case

JacintoPort International LLC agreed to pay $219,000 in back wages and interest to 48 African-American and 21 Caucasian job applicants who were allegedly denied employment on the basis of their race. The company went through an affirmative action audit by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), resulting in a conciliation agreement in June…

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Feb 06 2012
HiringQ&A

What obligation do we have to rehire someone who left for an injury?

You have the same obligation to evaluate your former employee as you would any other candidate for the position. In other words, don’t assume that he physically can't perform the job simply because you know about his past medical condition. A California police officer was recently allowed to continue his claim against his former employer…

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Feb 03 2012
Uncategorized

Report: Executives concerned about leadership shortages

A recent report on executives priorities determined that developing leaders and succession planning were the greatest concerns related to employee talent. When evaluating their companies talent programs, executives who were spending more in this area were more likely to be satisfied with the results. The highest strategic priority for executives was locating new sources of…

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Feb 01 2012
Labor Relations

NLRB ushers in 2012 with a bang

<!—[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]—><!—[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]—><!—[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:””;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}</style><![endif]—> Things have been hopping at the National Labor Relations Board, the agency that enforces workers’ rights to collectively band together on issues related to their…

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Jan 30 2012
Uncategorized

Only effective anti-harassment efforts will reduce liability potential

EEOC v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc., 7th Cir, Jan. 2012).<!—?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /?—>   Effective anti-harassment measures should occur more often than once during the length of employment. All employees should be given access to the company’s anti-harassment policy and receive at least some training about their rights and responsibilities….

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Jan 26 2012
Uncategorized

SAFETY: It’s that time of year again; don’t forget to post OSHA 300A summary

On February 1, 2012, you need to post your Injuries and illnesses must be recorded on the log within seven days; OSHA Form 300 and the log summary must be maintained for five years; Supporting documents must also be maintained for five years, including on-the-job injury reports (801) and other workers compensation documents;…

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Jan 20 2012
Employee Benefits

IRS issues more guidance on Form W-2 reporting of health coverage

Do you have lingering questions about how to report the value of employees’ employer-provided health coverage on their 2012 Forms W-2? The IRS recently released Employers that are federally recognized Indian tribal governments are not subject to the reporting requirement, nor are tribally chartered corporations wholly-owned by a federally recognized Indian tribal government (Q/A-3). Clarifies…

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