What’s new? Raising wages is always a hot topic as the new year approaches, but the buzz usually concerns increases in state minimum hourly wage rates. This year, making news is the minimum compensation that salaried employees must be paid to be classified as exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Read more
Effective September 30, 2018, the minimum wage increased in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The wage hike brings these territories’ wage rates one step closer to the rest of the United States. The islands of American Samoa and CNMI are U.S. territories covered by the provisions of the federal Fair Read more
Last week, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI). The new agency is tasked with expanding and developing innovative approaches to compliance assistance, including more effective use of online resources to promote a better understanding of federal labor laws and regulations. Providing employers Read more
Pesticides are an important tool for keeping our farms, homes, and workplaces free from pests which can destroy crops and spread illness to livestock or humans. However, pesticides can also pose a risk to humans when proper steps are not taken to limit exposure. Although individuals may be exposed to pesticides in many different environments, Read more
Although opinions differ as to the cause, the wage gap between male and female workers persists even today – on average, women earn roughly 80% of what men earn over the course of a lifetime. Some equality advocates have argued that the common employer practice of using a new hire’s previous salary to determine their Read more
The federal appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, which was signed into law on March 23, brought an end to uncertainty on two fronts: it put a stop to the short-term spending bills that have been keeping the government afloat since the end of fiscal year 2017, and it created a fix for the tip Read more
On February 26, 2018, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals became the second federal appeals court to hold that sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under the federal law which prohibits employers from making employment decisions based on sex. The 10-3 decision follows on the heels of the 7th Circuit, which in 2017 became the Read more
The Alaska Division of Labor Standards and Safety has revised the mandatory Alaska Safety and Health Protection posting to reflect the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) anti-retaliation provision. Our readers may recall that OSHA issued a Final Rule in 2016 relating to the Recordkeeping and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulations. Under the Final Read more
On December 04, 2017 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its decision to rescind controversial regulations which restrict an employer’s use of employee tips regardless of whether he pays the full federal minimum wage. The move comes as no surprise since the agency announced this move as Read more
Those who hoped that the new administration would bring “certainty” for employers are probably a bit disappointed right now, as the most recent move from the federal government raises more questions about protections for transgender employees under federal law. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo which resets federal policy on Read more
