Articles Posted in Human Resources Policies

Last month, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a request for public comments on its preliminary interpretations of a new provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that requires employers to provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time and a private space for expressing breast milk while at work.

For more information about this new requirement for employers, check out some previous posts I did on the subject here and here.

The DOL will accept public comments until Feb. 22, 2011 — via http://www.regulations.gov.

Next week is our firm holiday party. And I am a big fan.

At the party, I like to drink Four Loko boilermakers all night until I get blackout drunk socialize with colleagues for a few hours before cabbing home for the evening. Generally, I go crazy have a good time. But I rarely always keep it in check. There are others like me at OTHER holiday parties who succumb to the sweet nectar of the gods get a bit tipsy after consuming too many drinks. And where there’s Tipsy, both Handsy and Sailormouth generally come out to play too.

This will could happen at your business. So what steps are you taking to prepare for this inevitability possibility (besides having my number on speed-dial)? Not sure what to do? I’ll help you with some tips after the jump.

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Recently, I had an article published in Bloomberg Law Reports about how employers can reduce their potential exposure to employee litigation by implementing a strong anti-harassment policy and then coupling that with training for supervisors and employees. If I do say so myself — and I do — this is a good read for any employer.

You can read my article here.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , enacted earlier this year, amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require a “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.” (Check out this fact sheet for more information)

It seems that one Iowa employer didn’t get the memo. Instead, it now has a potential lawsuit. Read all the messy details, after the jump…

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Congress created the Occupational Safety & Hazard Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. That sounds nice. But my clients and I both know this: you don’t want OSHA sniffing around your job sites.

Now OSHA is expanding its taking aim at a new target: distracted-driving. Read how, after the jump…

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Last week we had flu shot day at Dilworth Paxson. I missed it. I was out prepping a client for an upcoming deposition. So, over the weekend, I shelled out the $24.95 and got a flu shot at the local drug store. Why? Because I don’t want to get sick and I don’t want to get other people sick. That’s precisely why my law firm offers free flu shots to its employees. (Plus, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer raised a conscientious son).

What is your business doing to prepare for flu season and a possible 2010/2011 pandemic? I’ve got eight suggestions for you after the jump.
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Note: This article has nothing to do with the Red Sox. Nothing at all. Just Massachusetts. And Massachusetts employment law at that. It’s ok, though. Still worth a read IMHO. Good advice for my PA, NJ, and DE readers.

I was checking out Gruntled Employees — get it? “gruntled” … as in the opposite of disgruntled … yeah, anyway — and I came across a a new law requiring companies to notify employees about any potentially negative information added to their personnel files.

Hear me out. I’m on a roll with this…after the jump.
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