by Dinita L. James
Reports out of the nation’s capital indicate the time finally may be right for comprehensive immigration reform. The word “comprehensive” encompasses a lot of issues, including border security and what some call a “pathway to citizenship” and others call “amnesty.”
Everyone describing the scope of comprehensive immigration reform seems to include in their [...]

Seen any viral videos lately? Maybe a more pertinent question is: Fired anyone over a viral video lately? Videos and other social media posts run the gamut from cute kittens to dancing wedding parties. Sometimes, though, they delve into more serious subjects and become statements on political and social issues — issues that can embarrass [...]

In Tuesday’s election, four states — Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah — approved ballot measures that would guarantee employees the right to secret-ballot voting in union elections. We decided to ask employment law attorneys in each of the four states — all members of the Employers Counsel Network — about the outcome of [...]

A federal judge blocked parts of Arizona’s new immigration law on Wednesday, the day before the rest of the measure went into effect. But legal challenges are already flying and many are waiting to see what happens next.
Last year, a record number of immigration-related laws were considered and passed in the 50 states. Over 222 [...]

by Chris McFadden
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees may be entitled to compensation for time spent donning and doffing uniforms if they are required to do so at work. A recent ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals addresses the compensability of time spent donning and doffing uniforms and gear when [...]

by Lorraine Yeomans
The 2010 state legislative sessions have kicked off across the nation, and one of the first pieces of legislation to be signed into law this year was a bill legalizing the use of medical marijuana.
On January 18, as one of his last acts before leaving office, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed the [...]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has entered into an agreement with Wheeler Construction in which Wheeler will pay two employees a total of $325,000 to settle a race discrimination claim. The case may reflect the EEOC’s increased attention to race discrimination claims, which, like other discrimination claims, are rising at a rapid rate.
HR Hero [...]

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is back in the news as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether AT&T violated the Act by paying reduced pension benefits based on uncredited pregnancy leave taken before enactment of the PDA in 1978. That upcoming decision may influence whether companies have to change their [...]

Q: We’ve been going through the interactive process with one of our employees (we’ll call him Mike). As a result, we’ve been accommodating him with unpaid leaves for the last year. It’s been tough, and Mike’s supervisors have told me more than once that they need to terminate him and move on. According to them, [...]

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of age discrimination claims. In fact, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), age discrimination charges rose by approximately 15 percent in fiscal year 2007. Many observers attribute that trend to the fact that more employees are [...]