In a news release on 12/21/2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division requested public comments on its preliminary interpretations of a new provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act requiring employers provide reasonable break time and a private space for expressing breast milk while at work to nursing mothers. The Break Time […]
Employers would be interested to review the USDOL’s regulatory agenda published in Spring 2010. In particular, employers should note the USDOL’s emphasis on proactive measures that the department would like to require employers to take before the USDOL investigator arrives. Indeed, the USDOL’s agenda marks the end of any regulatory tolerance for what the government […]
Earlier this month, the USDOL unveiled the latest development in its e-laws advisor programs: an online resource entitled “Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor.” The website and related links continue the USDOL’s effort to educate employers and employees about the amendments to the ADA, as well as its fundamental applications. The website requires the viewer to answer […]
Earlier this month, the EEOC announced that Walmart Stores will pay $11.7 million in back wages and compensatory damages, up to $250,000 in administration fees and will furnish other relief, including jobs, to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Walmart’s London, Ky., Distribution Center denied jobs to female applicants […]
As many observers noted, the EEOC’s Performance Results for the FY 2009 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) were released toward the end of last year. The PAR is based on the EEOC’s current modified Strategic Plan for FY 2007 through FY 2010 which was approved by the Commission in 2008. The current strategic plan contained […]
Earlier this month, the EEOC announced that the agency had secured its largest Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) settlement in history. The case against Sears Roebuck & Co was brought in the Northern District of Illinois in 2004 and just this month resulted in a court approved settlement. In the lawsuit, the EEOC claimed that Sears implemented […]
Among many other items of interest, President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 includes a continued COBRA subsidy proposal. If enacted (and made retroactive to its proposed start date of March 1, 2010), the provision would continue a 65% subsidy for qualified workers who are laid off between March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2010. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]