human resources

March 26, 2015

Celebrate FMLA Justice

It has been almost two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional. Until that time, certain entitlements of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were only available to opposite-sex married couples. Same-sex married couples are only eligible for FMLA entitlements if the state where the couple resides allows same- sex marriages. That changed on March 27, 2015. Same-sex married couples will be treated the same under the FMLA as opposite-sex married couples. In the final rule issued February 25, 2015 and effective March 27, 2015, the definition of spouse […]
March 4, 2015

EEOC Releases 2014 Statistics

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its fiscal year 2014 private sector data detailing information regarding the 88,778 charges of discrimination it received. The EEOC’s fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 2014. The five percent reduction from FY 2013 was attributed in part to the government shutdown. The shutdown occurred during the first quarter reducing charge filings by 3,000 to 5,000 compared to other quarters. Claimants recovered $75.9 million less when compared to the previous year. Retaliation-based charges continued to be the most prevalent, accounting for nearly 43- percent of all charges filed. This is the sixth consecutive […]
January 14, 2015

Prepare Now To Stay Union-Free

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) removed unnecessary barriers and reduced unnecessary delays according to its final rule on the union election process. This ruling has been referred to as “quickie or ambush elections”. It was published in the Federal Register on December 15, 2014 and will take effect April 14, 2015. In their ruling, rules about documents and communications are modernized in light of new technology. Electronic filings and communications will replace paper petition filings and notifications. Election petitions can be filed with the Board and served on the employer electronically. Currently, employers are not required to post a […]
December 2, 2014

Changes to Legal Immigration Programs

While everyone is focused on illegal immigration, don’t lose sight of President Obama’s executive actions intention to make things a bit easier for employers to access and retain legal immigrants. Business leaders have pleaded with Congress to pass an immigration reform bill. Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated this reform would boost productivity, attract worldwide investment, raise the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and slash the federal deficit. Immigration reform is needed to alleviate labor shortages. The technology sector struggles to find qualified candidates. A recent survey conducted by Adecco found there is one unemployed […]