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Oct 22 2013
Employee Benefits

IRS recognizes same-sex marriages for federal tax purposes

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional in providing that marriage for purposes of federal law means one man and one woman, the IRS recently issued guidance on its new stance on same-sex spouses. According to IRS Notice 2013-17, for federal…

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Oct 17 2013
Affirmative ActionHiring

Bank ordered to pay over $2 million to rejected applicants

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced that Bank of America has been ordered by an administrative law judge to pay $2,181,593 in back wages and interest to disappointed African American job applicants. It all started on November 24, 1993, when the OFCCP notified the bank it had been selected for a random…

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Oct 17 2013
Labor RelationsQ&A

NLRA protects workers’ complaints and other activities

A: If he’s a supervisor or manager, absolutely. But if he’s a nonsupervisory employee, then his activity may be protected. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), most nonsupervisory employees have the right to band together for mutual aid and protection to address concerns about wages, hours, and working conditions. If the employee is voicing…

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Oct 17 2013
Labor RelationsQ&A

Make sure your photography ban satisfies the NLRB

A: You will want to be careful in how you enforce this policy. In recent months the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken the position that prohibiting employees from videotaping and taking photographs in the workplace may have a chilling effect on their right to engage in protected, concerted activity under the National Labor…

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Oct 15 2013
CaliforniaWage and Hour

CALIFORNIA: Huge punitive damage award upheld in retaliation case

Speaking up about concerns in the workplace, and being fired as a result, resulted in a huge jury verdict against a California employer. In a recent case, a federal district court upheld a jury verdict awarding an employee over four million dollars for being fired in retaliation for raising an issue about the company’s meal…

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Oct 10 2013
Leave LawsQ&AWage and Hour

Do we have to pay our exempt employees while they are on a one or two day military leave?

A: Just like with jury duty, you do have to maintain the salary of exempt employees during temporary military leave unless the leave is for a full workweek or more. You can, however, offset his salary with his military pay so that he’s not making more while on leave. Since you should treat military leave…

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Oct 10 2013
Labor Relations

NLRB General Counsel clamps down on policies prohibiting photos and use of company logo

Employer policies are still under fire by the Office of General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This time, the General Counsel issued an Advice Memorandum concluding that several of an employer’s policies were illegal, including those prohibiting the disclosure by employees of “confidential or non-public information” and prohibiting the use of the…

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Oct 09 2013
Affirmative Action

2013 VETS 100/100A reporting extended

Because of problems with the launch of the 2013 VETS-100/100A reporting cycle, the U.S. Department of Labor has given federal contractors an extra month to submit their reports. The new deadline is October 31, 2013. Tips: Be careful to select the right snapshot date for your report. One of Vigilant’s members discovered that the online…

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Oct 08 2013
Drug and AlcoholQ&A

Reliable statements about off-the-job drug use may justify reasonable suspicion testing

A: It depends on the information, its source and what your drug testing policy says. Consider a recent court case: An employee threw a party at her house for her coworkers. After the party, the spouse of a coworker reported to Human Resources that while at the party, the employee had asked her if she…

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Oct 03 2013
Q&AWage and Hour

Most bonuses require additional overtime calculation

A: No joke. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the general principle is that a bonus essentially raises an employee’s regular rate (similar to an hourly shift differential). Unless a specific exception applies, wage and hour law dictates that you need to ensure that if any nonexempt employees worked overtime during the bonus…

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Oct 02 2013
Affirmative ActionDisabilityHiring

Understand what deadlines apply to new rules on veterans and disabilities

Employers with federal contracts or subcontracts need to understand their deadlines for coming into compliance with new affirmative action rules for veterans and people with disabilities. All covered federal contractors will have to comply with certain parts of the rules in March 2014 (180 days after publication in the Federal Register, which should happen any…

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Oct 01 2013
Immigration

Do you keep photocopies of I-9 documentation?

Determining whether to keep photocopies of the documentation provided during the Form I-9 process can be a tough decision for employers to make. On the one hand, employers aren’t required to retain copies of employment authorization documents, and having them on hand creates an obligation to keep those documents secure and confidential. On the other…

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