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| More than a dozen states are considering legislation to make it illegal for companies to discriminate against the unemployed. State lawmakers say they see the bias turning up in a nation with an 8.3 percent unemployment rate: Companies that explicitly advertise that they won't hire someone who isn't currently employed. |
| (Source: The Wall Street Journal, 2012-02-24) |
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| In 2010, Pamela Fink, an employee of a Connecticut energy company, made a new kind of discrimination claim: she charged that she had been fired because she carries genes that predispose her to cancer. Fink quickly became the public face for the cutting edge of civil rights: genetic discrimination. |
| (Source: Time, 2012-02-20) |
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| With more people of all ages looking for work in the slow economy, age discrimination complaints are on the rise -- but becoming harder to win. Employment law experts say that has a lot to do with one particular case: Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc. |
| (Source: NPR, 2012-02-16) |
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| More than three decades after Congress passed a law trying to protect pregnant women in the workplace, discrimination is still widespread and needs to be combated with publicity and clearer guidelines, a federal agency was told. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's legal counsel, Peggy Mastroianni, said the agency had resolved 52,000 pregnancy cases since 2001, with $150.5 million paid out in damages. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2012-02-15) |
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| Overall union membership in the U.S. increased last year -- the first time it did not decline since 2007. 24/7 Wall St. looked at union membership by state to identify the states with the highest and lowest membership. |
| (Source: MSNBC, 2012-02-16) |
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| The Department of Labor finally issued long-anticipated final regulations requiring retirement-plan service providers to disclose to employer-plan sponsors all of their direct and indirect compensation and potential conflicts of interest. The requirements put both the plan sponsors and investment management fiduciaries (often CFOs) in a conundrum. |
| (Source: CFO.com, 2012-02-21) |
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| The economic forces reshaping the global economy are prompting many local companies to pay new attention to an often overlooked form of diversity: The age of their workers. Some companies are finding the skills of older workers don't always match the demands of the modern marketplace. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd), 2012-02-19) |
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| 21 percent of employees -- especially those in younger age categories -- are friends with their boss on Facebook. Furthermore, men are more likely to believe being Facebook friends with management enables them to do their job more effectively. |
| (Source: ZDNet, 2012-02-14) |
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| Employers have come under fire in recent months for using tactics such as credit checks to vet job applicants, but it turns out there may be a more effective way to screen candidates: Facebook. |
| (Source: TheStreet.com, 2012-02-23) |
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The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment. Though the law took effect in late 2009, many employers are still wrestling with its meaning and the conduct that it prohibits. At the end of 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced final regulations designed to help interpret and implement these protections.
Under GINA, it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of genetic information in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits or any other term or condition or employment. In the EEOC’s own words, “an employer may never use genetic information to make an employment decision because genetic information is not relevant to an individual’s current ability to work.”
Read full article online. |
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Brightpoint, Inc. is a leading global communications technology firm that specializes in the distribution of wireless devices and in providing customized logistics services to the wireless industry. During 2007, over 83 million wireless devices were distributed worldwide. Brightpoint is the "last mile" in the complex distribution to dealers and retail stores and finally, the consumer.
Read the entire Brightpoint case study. |
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Distracted Drivers?
Are your employees responding to email, texts or phone calls behind the wheel? Studies reveal that texting and talking on the phone while driving make a driver more impaired than when they are drinking and driving. Is it time for a change in your organization?
Since a motor vehicle accident could result in serious and fatal injuries, it is wise to have policies in place that require employees to follow safe driving guidelines – including forbidding cell-phone use while driving, requiring employees to drive within the speed limit and wear a seat belt, and making the employee responsible for knowing the applicable laws within the state the employee is traveling. Having these policies and communicating them to your employees could provide additional defenses to worker's compensation claims which result from motor vehicle accidents. The National Safety Council offers tips to minimize distracted driving and resources for employers to communicate safety policies to employees.
For more information on the defenses available within your state worker's compensation system, please contact an Ice Miller Workers’ Compensation attorney. |
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