As an employer, you want to ensure your employees are able to perform their job duties in a safe work environment. While it may be easier to recognize fall hazards or faulty equipment, employers should also safeguard against another risk: sexual harassment. Over 5,500 claims of sexual harassment were filed with the EEOC in 2021, which doesn’t account for many other employees that felt forced to leave their job or, worse, struggled with harassing behavior in silence.
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This Monday we celebrate Labor Day, which is a day to honor and recognize contributions that workers have made. The first
Labor Day
holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.
Employer regulations at the local, state and federal levels have been increasing, the workforce is becoming more dynamic, the expectations of managers are more complex, and many businesses are trying to do more with less.
Employers use wellness programs to supplement their employee benefit programs in an effort to prevent illness and lower health care costs by motivating employees to adopt and maintain healthful behaviors. These programs are popular with employers looking to reduce health care costs, and studies have shown that implementing and maintaining an employee wellness program can also result in increased employee productivity, reduced absenteeism, higher morale, and increased employee retention.
U.S. employers added 372,000 new jobs in June, beating economists’ forecasts, according to the employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 percent. Some indicators show a contraction in employment, but the overall picture is that the U.S. labor market is still strong.
Effective August 1, 2022, the state of Louisiana amends its state employment discrimination laws to ban hairstyle discrimination, joining a growing number of states that have taken the same steps.
Summer—a time for beach trips, cookouts, and … uncomfortable talks about body odor. With the temperatures heating up, you may hear your employees complain about a coworker’s unpleasant smells. Of course, no one appreciates being told they stink, so when you address these concerns (and you should address them), keep these tips in mind to avoid embarrassment or, worse, accusations of discrimination.
Employers today often elect to monitor employee activities; however, employers should always consider whether there is a legitimate business interest in monitoring employees that outweighs employee privacy rights. Employees generally do not have an expectation of privacy in the workplace when employers put employees on notice that they may be monitored. An employer should balance both the employer's need for information and employee privacy rights.
Classifying an employee as exempt or nonexempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is among the most important tasks that employers must perform. Every year, thousands of lawsuits are filed by employees who allege they were misclassified, and they often win millions of dollars in back pay and fees.
There are specific steps to follow for determining whether an employee qualifies for a particular exemption, but the general process of employee classification is roughly the same for all of the exemptions. Follow these steps to classify an employee under the FLSA and consult with your FrankAdvice HR Consultant as needed.