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Aug 15 2017
Safety and Health

Q&A: Make practical preparations for August 21 solar eclipse

Answer: A liability waiver is unlikely to do any good. If this is a company-sponsored activity, on company property, during regular working hours, then employees who burn their retinas looking at the sun without proper protection will almost certainly be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. A more worthwhile approach is to educate employees on how…

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Aug 11 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationQ&ATermination & Resignation

Q&A: Free speech has limits in private employment (fired Google engineer)

Answer: The constitutional right to free speech protects people from the government interfering with their speech, but it doesn’t insulate them from non-governmental consequences of that speech. So, government employees have free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution, but employees of private employers don’t have constitutional rights related to their employment. Private employers still have…

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Aug 08 2017
Q&AWage and Hour

Can employees volunteer to work?

A: While it might seem like you’re doing something for the employee’s benefit, and you don’t want to discourage initiative, these individuals should be paid for time spent learning how to use the equipment. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) you must pay employees if you “suffer or permit” them to perform tasks….

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Aug 04 2017
Affirmative ActionHarassment & Discrimination

KPMG agrees to pay $420K to rejected Asian applicants

Following an affirmative action audit by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), KPMG LLP agreed to pay $420,000 in back pay, interest, and benefits to 60 Asian applicants it rejected for associate auditor jobs in New Jersey. The company also agreed to offer positions to 6 of the disappointed applicants as positions become…

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Jul 19 2017
Safety and HealthWashingtonWorkers’ Comp

Christmas in Summer – Retro Refund Checks Delivered!

It never gets old. The thrill of delivering refund checks to Vigilant’s Retro Group members is topped only by the delight our members get from receiving them. Last month our safety managers distributed checks to our Washington manufacturers—our 33rd year of returning some of their hard-earned money and well-spent investment. Reduce Your Experience Mod Rating…

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Jul 18 2017
Privacy & ConfidentialityQ&A

Think twice before telling the truth about former employees

A: Not so fast! A signed release seems like a golden ticket to share your true feelings and frustrations about a former employee, but the release may not actually protect you. That’s what an Indiana medical clinic recently found out the hard way. In this situation, the clinic settled an EEOC claim with a former…

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Jul 13 2017
Labor RelationsQ&A

Employees wearing protest attire and using work email to stir the pot

A: Generally, no. Unfortunately for employers, the National Labor Relations Board, the agency tasked with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), has consistently decided that these activities are protected. The NLRA protects nonmanagement employees’ ability to unionize or band together to advance their common interests regarding wages, hours, and working conditions; exceptions are very…

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Jul 10 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringQ&A

Q&A: Should we use employment tests to help us identify the best candidates?

Answer: Tests can be useful in identifying top job candidates, but it’s important to be thoughtful about how you incorporate testing into your hiring processes. Of course, it makes sense to select the most qualified candidate. However, you must ensure that your testing avoids a discriminatory adverse impact on the basis of a protected status…

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Jul 05 2017
DisabilityHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

Q&A: Post-offer medical testing problematic when hiring temp agency employees

Question: We currently contract with a temporary employment agency for workers and will hire some of these workers after 90 days of successful work. We require all new regular employees for production and maintenance positions to undergo a pre-employment (post-offer) medical test. When we offer regular jobs to the temp agency employees, can we require…

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Jun 30 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringImmigration

Requiring new hires to present specific IDs for I-9 costs employer $225,750

An employer in eastern Washington required all green card holders to present their Permanent Resident Cards when completing the Form I-9. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that this employer has now agreed to pay a fine of $225,750 to settle discrimination charges. The employer also agreed to post workplace notices, train its…

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Jun 15 2017
Drug and Alcohol

Positive drug tests on the rise

In a report released May 16, 2017, Quest Diagnostics revealed that American workplace drug testing has reached its highest positivity rate in 12 years. After analyzing more than ten million drug test results in 2016, Quest found that workers tested positive in 4.2 percent of all urine tests—a 5 percent jump from 2015 numbers. Notably,…

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Jun 12 2017
DisabilityQ&A

Q&A: Employer doesn’t have to promote to accommodate disability

A: No. Your obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to reasonably accommodate her disability so that she can perform the essential functions of her job. To figure out what this accommodation might be, you must engage in back-and-forth dialogue with the employee to determine what she needs—usually with help from her doctor—and…

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