A significant issue facing the United States is the number of people who have criminal records and the fact that most employers aren’t willing to hire them. It makes sense that organizations want to protect their employees from dangerous people. But the truth is, there are many people with felony...
One of the most exciting ways the internet has changed the workplace is that it has decentralized it, making it easier than ever for people to work remotely. This is good news for everyone. For workers, it means getting to finally take advantage of all the benefits remote work has to offer, and for empl...
E-mail is one of the most effective communication tools utilized by businesses today. Marketing tools make it simple for companies of all levels to create a campaign, upload a list, and send out promotional e-mails to everyone, everywhere, whether they want it or not. Unfortunately, we have all experien...
A recent Fifth Circuit case highlights the complexity of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and should alert employers to the dangers of running afoul of FLSA rules. Although the plaintiffs lost the case, Escribano v. Travis County, Texas, No. 19-50236 (5th Cir. Jan. 10, 2020) shows how complicated the...
A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision overturns precedent to allow employers to place confidentiality clauses regarding workplace investigations in their employee handbooks. In Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store and Kathy Johnson, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019), the board ruled in fa...
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that 24 percent of employed people did some or all of their work from home — and that was back in 2015. The numbers have grown since then, thanks to improved technology to support remote work execution, the increasingly difficult and costly challenges of commuting,...
The year that’s ending saw many developments in the laws and trends affecting employers. Most notable was the change in overtime rules, which will affect thousands of employers beginning in 2020. There were many other changes as well, including minimum wages increases and a ruling on the Family Me...
Businesses that do not recruit from diverse talent may have a more difficult time filling key roles and are missing out on qualified candidates. Having a diverse workforce with bilingual employees from varying ethnic backgrounds enables people to collaborate, fuel creativity, and enhance talent. Teams w...
Recent news stories tell of a defense appropriations bill that includes a new benefit for federal workers: paid parental leave of up to twelve weeks on the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child. Paid parental leave has long been a goal of the federal workforce, and parental leave bills have been intr...
It can take a long time to hire a new employee, and the process can be frustrating for potential employees and employers alike. What’s more, a recent study conducted by Cornell University points to a potential problem with applicant tracking software (ATS) that could lead to regulation that employ...
Labor laws set and mandate the relationship between an employer and their employees. Both federal and state governments within the United States have enacted employment laws to protect the rights, health, and financial remuneration of workers. A rule of thumb to follow is that federal laws tend to const...
Discrimination is not just against the law. It is also wrong and can cause long-term, irreparable damage to both victims and their workplaces. Unfortunately, workplace discrimination continues to be a major problem in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of reported cases every year. It is impo...
