News & Updates

Employment

Court Sides With USDOL and Orders Restaurant Operators to Pay More than $2 Million In Back Wages and Penalties

Court Sides With USDOL and Orders Restaurant Operators to Pay More than $2 Million In Back Wages and Penalties

Two restaurant owners-operators who managed five restaurants called Oriental Forest have been ordered by a federal court judge to pay $2,030,430 in minimum wage and overtime pay and damages owed to 129 workers following an investigation by the USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division. The court also ordered the business owners not to violate minimum wage and […]

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Title II of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Effective Today

Title II of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Effective Today

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is effective today, November 21, 2009.  Title II of GINA prohibits an employer’s use of genetic information in making decisions related to any terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.  GINA also prohibits employers from intentionally acquiring genetic information, requires confidentiality with respect to genetic information (with limited exceptions), and […]

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USDOL Secretary Solis Announces Hiring of 250 New Wage and Hour Investigators

USDOL Secretary Solis Announces Hiring of 250 New Wage and Hour Investigators

Yesterday, USDOL Secretary Hilda Solis announced that USDOL has hired 250 new Wage and Hour investigators.  The hiring will result in a 33% increase in investigative staff which, no doubt, will herald more investigations.  As the Secretary’s press release stated, “America’s workers should rest assured that protecting worker rights is a top priority at the […]

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This Is The Last Week The EEOC Will Receive Written Comments About New ADAA Regulations

This Is The Last Week The EEOC Will Receive Written Comments About New ADAA Regulations

November 23, 2009, is the last day that the EEOC will receive any further written comments upon its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for new regulations to implement the the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA) which took effect on January 1st of this year.  The NPRM proposes a significant adjustment in how the EEOC will […]

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Department of Homeland Security to Hold Employer Symposium

Department of Homeland Security to Hold Employer Symposium

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced plans to hold a one day symposium entitled “Government and Employers 2009:  Working Together to Ensure a Legal Workforce.”  According to DHS, the talk is intended to cover employment eligibility compliance, the E-Verify federal contractor rule, the future course of worksite enforcement and other topics.  Aside from […]

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Senator Dodd Expected to Propose Paid Sick Leave Today

Senator Dodd Expected to Propose Paid Sick Leave Today

As chairman of the subcommittee on Children and Families, Christopher Dodd (D:CT) is expected today to unveil the Senate’s version of a bill that would provide up to seven (7) days of paid sick leave for workers and perhaps worker’s family members who are ill, including individuals who have contracted H1N1 swine flu.  Given that the Department of […]

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Employee Free Choice Act Expected to Gain Momentum

Employee Free Choice Act Expected to Gain Momentum

With the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) became the Chairman of the influential Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on September 10, 2009.  Although the HELP committee has spent much time on the topic of health care reform, Washington insiders expect that the HELP committee will soon turn its attention to […]

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Congress Likely to Pass Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Congress Likely to Pass Employment Non-Discrimination Act

There is little doubt that Congress and the White House are moving rapidly to pass laws affecting the workplace.  In fact, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which expanded the limitations period applicable to some claims of unfair compensation under the Equal Pay Act. This […]

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President Obama Nominates David Lopez as General Counsel for EEOC

President Obama Nominates David Lopez as General Counsel for EEOC

This past week, the White House announced President Obama’s selection for the EEOC’s General Counsel position:  P. David Lopez.  Mr. Lopez is a seasoned litigator and has served the EEOC for more than 13 years in various capacities.  This year alone, Mr. Lopez appears as counsel of record on more than 10 federal opinions published […]

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Wage And Hour Recovers $560,000 in Back Wages

Wage And Hour Recovers $560,000 in Back Wages

This month, the USDOL Wage and Hour Division announced that it had recovered $560,000 in back wages owed to workers of Stone and Webster Construction Company in Pueblo, Colorado.  That number may seem large, but Wage and Hour has announced similar and larger amounts this year, highlighted by April’s announcement of a 1.7 million dollar back […]

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