Policies

EEO Tips: Mandatory Flu Shot Policies
August 28, 2018
Believe it or not, summer is almost over and itis again time to think about flu vaccines! How effective will they be this year, will you and your family get shots, and will the flu shot be required for your employees?
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Wage and Hour Tips: When is Travel Time Considered Work Time
August 28, 2018
One of the most confusing areas of the FLSA is determining whether travel time is considered work time. The following provides an outline of the enforcement principles used by Wage Hour to administer the Act.
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Drafting a Parental Leave Policy? Learn from the Estée Lauder Story or You'll Risk Smelling Stinky
August 5, 2018
Parental leave policies are on the rise.Maternity. Paternity. Caregiver. You name it. I am drafting more of these policies than ever before.
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Are You Prepared To Handle The #MeToo Movement In Your Workplace?
July 30, 2018
Months into the #MeToo movement, daily reports of high-profile sexual harassment complaints have led to a new question – are employers prepared to handle a harassment complaint?
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Rising Concerns for Employers with Distracted Drivers
July 30, 2018
There are many industries that require their employees to drive either their own vehicles or company-owned vehicles as a part of their job duties. With the rise of smartphones and the ability to do multiple things while driving, drivers, employers, and state legislatures have grown more and more concerned with distracted drivers.
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Pitfalls of Zero Tolerance Policies
July 30, 2018
Zero tolerance policies are a good thing, right? Because of the many workplace misconduct scandals that have become public in recent  months, employers  are  taking  harder looks at how they handle allegations of harassment, from addressing  complaints to carrying out discipline for offenders.
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Massachusetts: Does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Create an Immediate Entitlement to Maternity Leave?
July 12, 2018
Massachusetts has its own parental leave law, which requires employers with six or more employees to provide eight weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
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Weighing In On Nevada Gaming Control Board’s Proposed Regulation Regarding Sexual Harassment
May 7, 2018
On May 3, 2018, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) held a workshop to receive public input regarding its proposal to amend Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 5 to require licensees’ adoption of certain procedures, policies, and training regarding sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Beware of Biometrics
March 28, 2018
Biometric authentication technology is becoming widely used by employers to track employee data, employee work hours, and employee locations. This creates a potential source of employer liability.
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What Is a “Bomb Cyclone,” and Do We Have to Pay Employees Who Miss Work Because of the Weather?
January 3, 2018
For those of us who have lived in New England for all or most of our lives, we’re used to hearing a lot of different names for our not-uncommon winter storms.  But the term “bomb cyclone” is a new one.
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Reminder: NY Paid Family Leave Effective January 1
January 1, 2018
On January 1, New York State’s Paid Family Leave (“PFL”) Legislation went into effect. As a reminder, the law requires employers to include written PFL policies in their employee handbooks or other employee guidance and to post a notice about their PFL coverage in the workplace; a copy of the required poster can be obtained from the employer’s PFL insurance carrier.
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Oregon: New Timeframes for Responding to Public Records Requests
December 28, 2017
During the 2017 legislative session, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 481 which amends the current public records process and timelines.  Prior law required completion of the records request “as soon as practicable without unreasonable delay.”  The new law, effective January 1, 2018, retains that requirement, but adopts specific timeframes for acknowledging and responding to public records requests.
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