HR Articles
June 30, 2008
Christopher M. Olmsted As reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on May 28, 2008, a group of Muslim workers allege they were fired by a Mission Foods tortilla factory for refusing to wear uniforms that they say were immodest by Islamic standards. Employers are reminded, by this example, of their obligation to reasonably accommodate religious beliefs and practices. Full Story
June 30, 2008
While promising to continue its strategy to increase raids and prosecutions
of companies it claims have knowingly hired large numbers of unauthorized
workers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has signaled a plan to
expand random and targeted audits of employers' I-9 forms that reflect the
employers' federally required efforts to screen out unauthorized workers.
This comes as pressures intensify on many fronts toward electronic
employment verification. Full Story
June 30, 2008
Christopher M. Olmsted Tamara Klopfenstein was a part-time receptionist for National Sales & Supplies for six weeks. During her employment, two vice presidents regularly asked her to bring them coffee. Her job description did not reference coffee service. However, she was told in her job interview that her supervisors did expect her at times to get them coffee. The individuals who held the position of receptionist before Ms. Klopfenstein were required to do so, and they performed the task without objection. Full Story
June 30, 2008
Christopher M. Olmsted Employers frequently experience the following scenario: Employee is suspected of wrongdoing. Employer investigates and decides to terminate Employee. At the eleventh hour, before he is fired, he claims that he is injured and disabled. He files a workers’ compensation claim. Employer wants to fire Employee, but is concerned about the appearance of discrimination and retaliation. Has the employee trapped the employer? Full Story
June 30, 2008
Christopher M. Olmsted Summer is here and many teenagers will be hitting the workforce to earn a few extra dollars. Companies who hire teenagers should be aware that state and federal law restricts the use of minors or “child labor.” The laws apply to “minors.” The California Labor Code defines “minors” as people under the age of 18 who are required to attend school. The definition also includes people under age 18 who are not required to attend school because they are not California residents. The definition also covers any child under the age of six. Full Story
June 23, 2008
Robin Foret On May 15, 2008 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an opinion in response to an inquiry concerning an employer’s break and meal policy under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). In addition to other areas of inquiry, the DOL responded to the question of what happens when an employee fails to take a meal break or other allotted break during the day. In some instances, the employee’s refusal to take the allotted break is in violation of a company policy stating that employees must take all such breaks during the work day. Issues raised by this problem include: whether the employee is entitled to additional straight time if the hours worked in a given workweek do not exceed 40; whether the employee is entitled to overtime if the hours exceed 40 in a given workweek despite the employee’s violation of company policy; and, what is the role of FLSA’s recordkeeping requirement for employers in such situations? Full Story
June 20, 2008
Pierre Coupet Although modern social networks such as MySpace.com, FaceBook.com, Orkutt, LinkedIn, and XING are enjoying a great deal of notoriety and success these days due to their popularity with--and wild embrace by--today's youth and the business community, their roots can be directly traced to Classmates.com and SixDegrees.com, both of which were formed in 1995 and 1997 respectively. In other words, it took 13 years for modern social networks to finally reach their peak--become ascendant-instead of some spontaneous explosion in popularity. Therefore, contrary to the idea that this is some sort of new Web 2.0 phenomena, this ascendant position most resembles the supernova stage of social networks and the beginning or emergence of a new phenomena. Full Story
June 18, 2008
Christopher Sears Fifty years ago, a sick or injured worker in a manufacturing plant did not
have to leave work to get health care – the worker simply went to
the plant clinic and saw the company doctor. Today, the idea of the
company clinic is making a come back, but with a new emphasis on wellness
and prevention. Full Story