Colorado’s Governor Hickenlooper has expressed his support of several bills passed by the legislature this session that if signed may have a big impact Colorado employers. Wage Protection Act of 2014 Senate Bill 5 establishes an administrative procedure that allows the Colorado Division of Labor to decide claims for nonpayment of wages or compensation up Read more
Effective April 18, 2014, the fine for failing to post notices required under certain federal laws will increase from $110 to $210 per violation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made the announcement in the March 19, 2014 Federal Register. The laws covered by the new fine amount are: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Read more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have just released two short guides on employment background checks: Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know, and Background Checks: What Job Applicants and Employees Should Know [PDF]. The publication for employers covers various procedures and laws that might apply when performing background Read more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is studying the use of social media by employers and employees and how it affects protections from discrimination. It’s a timely and significant issue. A SHRM study shows over 75% of companies are using social networking sites to recruit candidates. Employers use social media for several different reasons: employee Read more
Many employers perform background checks on prospective employees as part of the hiring process. Employers view criminal background and credit checks in particular as important screening tools for hiring qualified workers. Although there is no federal law prohibiting the use of criminal or credit history by an employer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has Read more
This summer, Oregon passed a new law (HB 2669) that entitles unpaid interns to many of the same workplace protections as their employee counterparts. Under the law interns are protected from sexual harassment; discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status or age; and retaliation for whistle-blowing, among other things. Read more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s latest 4-year Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) continues to make agency-initiated investigation and litigation of employment policies and practices an enforcement priority. The EEOC’s priorities include: Preventing exclusionary practices in recruiting and hiring, such as discriminatory screening tools, background checks and date-of-birth inquiries, Protecting immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers, focusing Read more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made a major decision, and as a result, millions of transgender employees are breathing a sigh of relief. Thanks to a recent EEOC ruling, transgender employees are now officially protected from employment discrimination. Specifically, they are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Read more
