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Employment Law

EEOC sees near record year in 2009

01/22/2010

Workplace discrimination charges filed with the EEOC in the 2009 federal fiscal year reached the second-highest number ever. Thirty-six percent of EEOC charges involved race discrimination, retaliation or both. Sex-based discrimination was the third most-common charge, at 30%.

DOL proclaims EFAST2 is up and running

01/22/2010

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s (EBSA) electronic filing system is now online. Employers that must file forms 5500 and 5500-SF must now do so electronically.

Helping out when laying off: Supplemental unemployment plans

01/22/2010

Layoffs are difficult for employees and employers alike. In these tough economic times, some employers are trying to help employees during layoffs and help prevent the permanent loss of good employees by implementing supplemental unemployment benefit plans.

Will our name on consultant’s business cards affect his independent contractor status?

01/22/2010

Q. One of our former employees, Joe Smith, has started an engineering consulting business. We have contracted with Joe to provide services similar to those he provided when employed. Would providing him with business cards bearing our name and logo jeopardize his independent contractor status?

Is it legal in North Carolina to withhold bonuses not paid at the time of termination?

01/22/2010

Q. May we include a provision in our bonus plan for North Carolina employees that they will forfeit any bonus that has not been paid at the time of termination?

Who gets paid first: employees or creditors?

01/22/2010

Q. My small construction business is closing its doors, and we have limited funds with which to pay employees and numerous creditors. What should we do? Who should we pay first?

Race bias costs $300,000 for Malvern’s Vanguard Group

01/21/2010

The financial services firm Vanguard Group has settled a racial discrimination complaint with the EEOC for $300,000. The case involved Barbara Alexander, a black applicant for a financial planning manager position at a Vanguard office in North Carolina. The company is headquartered in Malvern.

The DOL is delivering on its vow to hire more investigators

01/20/2010

The threat of more rigorous enforcement—the U.S. Department of Labor now has 250 more wage-and-hour cops—is yet another reason to double-check to see whether your exempt employees are truly exempt.

Reprimand, mandate training to cut bias liability

01/19/2010

All employees, regardless of which protected class they belong to, have the right to work in an environment free from hostility. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to fire every co-worker who does something that might be interpreted as hostile. Sometimes the appropriate response is to reprimand the co-worker and educate her so she’ll change her ways.

The HR I.Q. Test: January ’10

01/18/2010

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …