newsletters

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 […]
September 23, 2014

The Hourly Rate of Poverty

Minimum wage began in 1938. Employees engaged in or producing goods for interstate commerce were granted a minimum wage of $0.25 per hour. That same year, President Roosevelt stated, “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” after federal agencies studied income levels. Poverty lines before 1958 did not take family size into consideration. After that time, the gender of head of household as well as family size were factors. Later, gender was dropped from the quotient. The earliest poverty threshold for a woman with two children was $2393 in 1961. By that time, the minimum wage rose to […]
August 22, 2014

Pregnant Pause

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued new guidance on pregnancy discrimination. The new guidance broadened the definition of pregnancy to include all aspects of the reproductive process, including contraception, termination of pregnancy, childbirth and post- birth. In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to include the protection on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions under the protected class of sex. EEOC issued guidance in 1983, before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act (ADAAA) were enacted. This guidance states though pregnancy is […]