The Department of Labor is working on a new independent contractor rule and is seeking input from employers and workers. The US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that raised the issue as to what are the requirements to waive an arbitration agreement in an employment case.
A committee in the House of Representatives approved legislation designed to prevent wage theft and enable those impacted by it to recover lost wages. The Justice Department issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in making hiring decisions and the possible impact on people with disabilities. The Labor Department updated guidance on the availability of FMLA leave to address mental health conditions. Two recent studies detailed the positive feedback from both charging parties and respondents who used the EEOC’s online mediation programs.
Stories that caught our eye in May.
More difficult to identify, psychologically unsafe work environments can be just as risky as dealing with hazardous materials on the job. As HR professionals, what can we be doing to identify the signals and support a culture of psychological safety?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is providing technical assistance concerning the possible disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to employers’ using artificial intelligence tools.
The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that would end mandatory arbitration agreements in employment and other disputes. The House of Representatives also has passed retirement reform legislation that is designed to provide additional retirement security to employees. Due to the increase in inflation, the IRS has announced that the health savings accounts limits will be increased by 5.5% in 2023. The Department of Labor prevailed in a misclassification case against a medical staffing agency.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on April 12th that the EEO-1 data collection was now open. The deadline for submission of the report is May 17, 2022. The EEO-1 report is a mandatory annual data collection that requires all private sector employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, to submit workforce demographics including data by race/ethnicity, sex, and job categories.
The House of Representatives has approved legislation amending Title VII to make it unlawful to discriminate against individuals based on hair texture or hairstyle. Federal agencies have taken several actions including the Department of Labor launching a campaign to promote mental health friendly workplaces and proposing amended regulations to the Davis-Bacon Act, and the EEOC providing information on caregiver discrimination.
Global HR professionals should be familiar not only with the laws and compliance regulations to which their company must adhere in their country of origin, but also with the same types of laws and regulations in the countries in which their company wants to create satellite offices, subsidiaries or other types of operations.
March 15, 2022, was Equal Pay Day, which signifies the day through which U.S. women on average must work to be paid the same wages as those received by men in 2021. This day resulted in several actions by the federal government.
Congress avoids a partial government shutdown by passing legislation funding the federal government through September 30th. Bill banning forced arbitration becomes law.
Companies are experiencing changes in leadership, culture and purpose. Here’s how HR’s function intersects with work’s high-level trends.
For the third time during this fiscal year, the federal government has averted a partial shutdown by passing a funding bill through March 11th.
Congress Passes Bill Banning Arbitration in Sexual Harassment Cases.
Pablo Picasso did it. So did Steve Jobs. Borrowing ideas from other “artists” and making them your own has been common practice throughout history. In fact, this technique has given birth to numerous innovations – both in the pre-modern and in the post-modern technology worlds. Today it is called the mash-up, and HR should take heed.