HR Connection blog

Federal labor agencies have kicked their rulemaking efforts into high gear. One month after the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule defining (and limiting) when one entity can be deemed the joint employer of another’s employees, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has followed suit. On February 26, 2020, the NLRB issued a final rule, establishing–for the first time–a federal regulation with a clear standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. The rule has been in the pipeline for a long time. It was first proposed in 2018, but the NLRB received almost 29,000 comments in response. It has taken the NLRB about 18 months–and nearly 200 pages in the Federal Register–to consider those comments and adopt a final rule. This rule is scheduled to become effective on April 27, 2020.

Today, social media platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn, allow employers to target their job listings based on various characteristics of the users they wish to reach. As a result, employers can theoretically identify better candidates while expending fewer resources. However, these ad platforms have drawn the ire of certain plaintiffs’ law firms and, more recently, the EEOC. 

The gig economy is the future of the workforce, right? Or is it an old concept with a modern twist?  After all, using workers on a “freelance” or “independent contractor” basis is not a new idea. Whether old or new, there are legal traps that businesses should be aware of and precautions they can take to minimize their liability.

Whether it’s a response to the tight employment market or seasonal employment rehiring, former employees are becoming more common. Rehiring employees can be beneficial to your organization, especially if they were strong contributors. You could save time and money since they are familiar with your business, and you do not need to provide them with the in-depth training required for onboarding new employees. A former employee also might have worked elsewhere since leaving your organization, which can be an opportunity to bring new skills, knowledge, and fresh ideas to your workplace.

Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), groups of employees are allowed to determine whether they wish to be represented by a union for purposes of collective bargaining, which sometimes results in businesses having both union and nonunion employees. How an employer treats its nonunion workforce in relation to its union workforce can impact employee morale and raise some significant legal issues. In the recent case of Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp., 367 NLRB No. 122 (May 7, 2019), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) clarified and reaffirmed that for the most part, employers are free to treat union and nonunion workforces differently as long as the employer does not have an improper anti-union motive in doing so.

As with most things in life, you should hope for the best but plan for the worst in the event that a valued employee leaves to join a competitor. This article contains some helpful tips to keep in mind following such a move by a key employee.

A few years ago, several Silicon Valley employers made news when they were accused of agreeing among themselves not to solicit each other’s programmers and software engineering employees. These employees are in high demand, and the alleged agreements were viewed as attempts to avoid salary battles as well as expenses involved in recruiting for employees who departed for another tech company.

Since the Department of Labor, DOL, announced the Overtime Final Rule on May 18 of this year, it’s faced an uphill political and legal battle.

As an employer hiring a person with disabilities, it is imperative that you are aware of the disability tax credits available to businesses. Not only do these tax breaks increase the bottom line for your company, they are fairly easy to understand! There are three common types of disability tax credits: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Disabled Access Tax Credit and the Barrier Removal Tax Deduction. Additional disability tax credits may vary by state, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with state allowances or specifics as well.