The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) has issued a technical assistance document to clarify issues regarding H1N1 pandemic flu preparations in the workplace and employees' rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). First, employers are free to be proactive in pandemic flu preparations because discussing the swine flu with employees is not considered...

Ohio adjusts its minimum wage rate yearly based on inflation for the twelve-month period ending each Sept. 30. With the rate as of Sept. 30, 2009, at a minus 0.2 percent, the state Department of Commerce has announced that the rate will remain at $7.30 an hour for 2010, the same as 2009. For tipped employees, the minimum wage will remain at $3.65 per hour. Under state law,...

Personnel Concepts is pleased to announce the addition and availability of a HIPAA Information Poster and Compliance Update Subscription. The subscription provides the HIPAA Information Poster to post for your employees and automatically sends out updates when applicable laws and regulations change, which is frequent these days under the new administration and the upcoming...

Vermont, which pegs its minimum wage to the inflation rate in August each year, will leave its $8.06-an-hour rate unchanged for 2010 due to a 1.5-percent decrease in the cost of living this year. Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden says a steady minimum wage reflects the economic times. The Vermont law mandating the automatic increase does not allow for a decrease, which means...

While the Senate dropped consideration of an amendment to make the system permanent, the House of Representatives has voted to extend E-Verify for three years. The 307-114 House vote on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, was part of the $42.8 billion appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It allocates $137 million to improve E-Verify’s accuracy and compliance...

Personnel Concepts' exclusive All-On-One HIPPA Information Poster has been updated in both English and Spanish and is currently available. Two recent set of rules have been incorporated into the poster. One concerns final regulations for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which takes effect Nov. 21, 2009. The rules bar not only disclosure of an individual's genetic...

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) becomes the law of the land on Nov. 21, 2009, but the Final Regulations are just now undergoing a 60-day public commentary period, so the implementing regulations won't take effect until Dec. 7. On Oct. 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published their...

The Colorado Division of Labor is proposing a four-cent decrease in the state's minimum wage from $7.28 to $7.24 an hour to reflect a decrease in the cost of living in the state. Colorado would thus become the first state to lower its minimum wage to reflect the deflation in the economy that's occurred since last year. The rate would take effect on Jan. 1, 2010, but first a public hearing...

The State of Colorado has updated its unemployment benefits insurance panel.  According to officials, the change is mandatory and all employers must replace existing notices with the current version dated 09/2009. Revisions to the poster include: A new complaint process available for misclassified employees. Information regarding fines and penalties for employers who...

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is reminding statewide employers that it is rigorously enforcing the new Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA), protecting victims of domestic violence and their family members from discrimination at work. To remind everyone of the new law and protections it offers, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has designated October as Domestic...

Montanans earning the minimum wage will have to wait until next September at the earliest for a boost from the current rate of $7.25. By law, the state must adjust the minimum wage by Sept. 30 of each year to reflect changes in the CPI (Consumer Price Index), but with no inflation this year (in fact, deflation took place), the rate will stay unchanged until the next calculation next year at...

With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling 1.9 percent in the 12 months through August 2009, Washington State is leaving its nation's highest minimum wage rate unchanged for 2010 at $8.55 an hour  (technically, the cities of Santa Fe and San Francisco have higher minimum wages). Washington is one of ten states that, by law, must adjust their minimum wage each year to reflect the CPI....

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is commencing an audit of businesses that appear to be under-reporting workplace illnesses and injuries. Illnesses and injuries must be reported each year on the OSHA Log 300. The Bureau of Labor Statistics then uses these reports to compile nationwide and industry-wide results. It is from these industry results that OSHA will pick...

The Mental Health Parity Act goes into effect on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, for new health plans that go into effect on that day or later. For existing health plans, the act kicks in on Jan. 1, 2010. While the Mental Health Parity Act does not mandate that health plans cover mental health, it does require plans that offer mental health coverage to place that coverage on par with the physical...

The state of Maine has raised its minimum wage to $7.50 an hour from $7.25 an hour, effective Oct. 1, 2009. Tipped employees can be paid one-half that rate provided tips rise them to the minimum wage or above. If not, employers must make up the difference. Governor John Baldacci says the increase will help Maine workers get through difficult economic times.  "Maine men and...