The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced stiffer penalties for violation of the child labor laws covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other pieces of legislation.
"Beginning today, employers who hire children too young to work will face stiffer penalties," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Work is not child’s play. When [...]
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) had long made life complicated for employers in the state who wanted to bring on board unpaid interns, adding an extra five criteria to those spelled out in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
But all that has changed now that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has [...]
A federal judge has dismissed claims against the Church of Scientology by a (former?) member who alleges she was forced to work 100-hour weeks for no pay under a billion-year contract for the religion’s elite Sea Organization, according to a report in The Baltimore Sun.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer issued a written order saying the [...]
For the past few days, a few labor law poster companies (other than Personnel Concepts) have been issuing press releases and other types of communication stating that the Cal/OSHA poster "Safety and Health Protection on the Job" has changed and posting the updated version is mandatory. (Therefore, buy it from us, in other words.)
However, the [...]
The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) has issued proposed new regulations, subject to a 45-day public commentary period, to clarify provisions of its statewide Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
The New York WARN Act, which was revised at the beginning of 2009, sets different thresholds and notification periods that are more stringent than federal requirements. New [...]
The federal version of the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act affects businesses with 100 or more employees and requires 60 days’ advance notice of layoffs (if they reach a certain level) and of company closings. In lieu of advance notice, the firm can pay 60 days’ wages and benefits on the day of discharge or [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Wild Edibles, a Long Island City, N.Y.-based wholesale seafood purveyor that was forced into bankruptcy in July 2009, has settled with a wage-earners’ group that led a successful boycott of the firm’s provisioning by 70 Manhattan restaurants.
The boycott was orchestrated by the nonprofit group Brandworkers, which alleged overtime and wage-and-hour violations by Wild Edibles and [...]
First Congress proposed a paid sick leave policy for all the nation’s businesses, but that initiative seems to have stalled behind some minor issues like health care reform and carbon transfers. Now Maine is getting into the act, and the proposal has state businesspeople up in arms, especially those who run small businesses.
The bill was [...]
Yesterday we reported on how the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had been returned to President Obama for reconsideration, giving him an opportunity to make a new appointment, reappoint Becker, or tender Becker a recess appointment good until the next election in 2010.
Becker is controversial and opposed by business [...]
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) dates to 1938 before the advent of pharmaceutical sales representatives (Coke in one variety or another sufficed for drugs back then–just kidding). However, a modern-day court battle is raging over whether PSRs are exempt from FLSA overtime rules.
A Connecticut court held recently that they are not exempt since pharma [...]
