mitigating liability

August 1, 2011

NLRA Affects All Employers

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) died in the Senate in 2009. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is moving ahead, making changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that will have a similar effect on employers as EFCA would have.
May 1, 2011

Some Don’t See A Rosy Forecast

The National Association of Business Economics (NABE) claims things are looking up. More people are working and spending. The survey of 72 business economists and policymakers was conducted March 16-31, 2011. The gross domestic product is expected to grow more than two percent this year. Employment prospects are increasing. The NABE respondents are forecasting more employee increases than decreases. Despite the rosy forecast, some companies are struggling to survive. Other companies have strategically used the downturn to effectively reduce their payroll expense. Still others are beginning to feel the negative effects of across the board wage reductions and furloughs. Most […]
January 1, 2011

Anticipate Increased Enforcement

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has finished up its best three years in history in terms of the number of charges filed, the total dollars recovered, and the reduction of backlogged charges. EEOC claims and total dollars recovered from employers hit an all time high ($319 million) in FY 2010. Charges filed in FY 2010 were up 7.1% from the previous year to 99,022. A combination of factors attribute to this trend. The EEOC’s authority has been expanded through legislation; the ADA Amendment Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Commission […]
December 1, 2010

Criminal Histories

An employer can be legally responsible for an employee’s wrongful acts. Negligent hiring is a claim made against an employer based on the premise that an employer knew, or should have known, an employee was likely to behave inappropriately toward other employees. Criminal history is a routine background check made prior to a hiring decision to avoid negligent hiring. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed more than 400 of its members earlier this year and revealed 73% conduct a criminal history of potential employees. Criminal histories have become common for reasons beyond limiting legal exposure to negligent hiring. […]