A federal court in Kansas has ruled than employee who was fired for his menacing behavior related to a failed office romance cannot claim that he was disabled under the ADA.  After the employee slapped his former lover (resulting in an arrest on misdemeanor battery charges), and several threatening phone calls and letters to the

The ADA’s prohibition against discrimination applies to medical examinations.  Generally, an employer is prohibited from conducting  a medical examination to determine whether an applicant has a disability or the nature or severity of a disability. However, the ADA does permit a medical examination after a job offer has been made and before the start of

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released its final regulations making changes to Part 541 governing overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Salary Threshold Changed  from $455/week ($23,660 per year) to $913/week ($47,476 per Year) This means that any Salaried/Exempt employee who today makes less than $47,476 per year will have to be re-classified

Form I-9 Proposed Changes USIS (United States Customs and Immigration Services) published a notice in the Federal Register on March 28 2016, to inform the public of proposed changes to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The public may provide comments on the proposed changes for 30 days, until April 27 2016. For a detailed summary of the proposed

Q One of our employees discovered that he incorrectly coded his overtime, which means he wasn’t paid at the proper rate. Now he wants us to go back 10 years to see if he has been paid wrong. Is there a time limit for reimbursing him for mistakes in his pay? A Yes. Under the Fair Labor

All employers should have well-drafted employee handbooks to provide direction and structure for your employees and to protect the Company from unnecessary legal entanglements  Handbooks should be updated at least annually to ensure that they are in compliance with recent federal, state and local laws that have been passed. Some things to consider: Do you

 The Department of Labor has issues an Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2015-1, which provides some insight into how the Government will be viewing 1099 (Independent Contractor) status in 2016.  For those of you who use Independent Contractors, below are some things the DOL will be looking at to determine whether there is a legitimate 1099 relationship

Why Background Checks and Drug Testing? A department of justice study found that about two million violent incidents occur at work a year including 1,000 homicides, 600,000 assaults, 42,000 rapes/sexual assaults and 23,000 robberies 1 in every 37 US adults have been incarcerated at one time, and the recidivism (tendency to return to criminal behavior)

Federal and State Poster Requirements for 2014 It’s that time of year and I know that most of you are receiving notices, sometimes weekly, informing you that you are out of compliance with the Federal and State posting requirements.  I have written this article to try and help you print your own posters and be

  Another major news story has huge HR implications for businesses… Ashley Madison is an online company that uses its technology to facilitate romantic affairs. The company’s motto is “Life is short. Have an affair.” A recent Forbes magazine article indicated that some thirty million men–one in four married American males–was signed up on the