The DOL Has Recruited Allied States To Reduce Worker Misclassification
Company’s should audit their agreements on exempt employees and independent contractors to address any misclassification issues. On December 5, 2011, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the improper classification of employees as independent contractors.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Severance Agreements?
Company’s should take a hard look before their offer departing employees severance agreements. Some employers pay employees a lump sum at the end of their tenure in order to tide them over until they find a new job, and never enter into a contractual agreement with them. This is perfectly legal, but it should be seen as a gift and nothing more.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Review Your Hiring Practices Because The EEOC Will Be
The EEOC is focusing on failure to hire. In late September, it sued sporting goods retailer Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, alleging that it engaged in a pattern or practice of failing to hire African American and Hispanic applicants for jobs in its retail stores nationwide. The lawsuit also alleges that Bass Pro unlawfully destroyed or failed to keep records and documents related to employment applications and internal discrimination complaints and punished employees who opposed its unlawful practices.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Role Should Employers Play About Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Sexual harassment awareness in the workplace plays a critical role. Sexual harassment in the workplace has long been illegal. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of1964 classifies sexual harassment as discrimination. The specific definition is “unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Do You Know How to Protect your Business From Workplace Retaliation Claims?
Workplace Retaliation Claims can be extremely expensive to the organization if not handled correctly. “We are certainly seeing an uptick in retaliation claims filed by current and former employees,” says Nicole Gray, an attorney in the Labor and Employment Practice Group at McDonald Hopkins. “Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court that have expanded the rights of employees who complain about retaliation, energetic enforcement by federal agencies, and increased public awareness are all factors that could explain why retaliation claims are becoming more frequent.”
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Role are you Asking your HR Department to Play?
Companies Be aware of Mistakes That Make Compliance Efforts Fail
The federal government plays a tremendous role in how a business must operate so be aware. For as much time and effort is spent at most enterprise and government organizations in complying with regulatory and standards body mandates, an awful lot of security firms can’t seem to get compliance right. A study earlier this year showed that half of organizations have failed an audit, and 75 percent were not sure they’d pass their audits in the future.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Review the Tips For Dealing With Workplace Discrimination
If your organization has not been trained in the areas of Title VII, beware. If a situation occurs that you think constitutes inequality, talk with your company’s human resources department and see what they would advise you to do. If your company doesn’t have a human resources department, talk with your supervisor. If your supervisor is the one who has committed the infraction, go to your supervisor’s supervisor. If there isn’t anyone who can help you to resolve the situation that you are in, it’s time to pull out the experts and hire a lawyer.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Will Your Employee Documents Pass an ICE Audit?
Employers should review every employee immigration document on a regular basis. ICE currently believes that there are around eight million illegal workers throughout the United States. ICE is taking efforts to ensure that all employers have the correct employee documentation on file to prove that workers are legal citizens. Not only is ICE making sure that paperwork is documented and up to date, but it’s also making sure that businesses are staffing legal citizens. Many businesses have been getting away with illegal employee practices for a long period of time. The ICE is taking steps to crack down on this behavior. Immigration audits are easy to comply when completed by an experience HR practitioner.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Wage-Hour Laws Can Create Risks for Companies
Does your awareness of the Fair Labor Standards Act keep you out of harms way? Federal investigators regularly look for violations of minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and other provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers not found to be in compliance must pay back wages and penalties. Recently, the Department of Labor launched a new smartphone “app” to help employees track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. These electronic time-sheets could result in more employers being hit with wage-and-hour-related violations. Here are 14 ways that your company or organization can get tripped up by these complex requirements. Every company should have systems and processes in place to address the FLSA regulations.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
