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| Foreign students in the United
States studying science, math, engineering and technology can stay in the country 17 months longer
if their future employers comply with an immigration verification program of the Homeland Security
Department. The policy change will give those who want to work in the U.S. under a highly skilled
worker visa program more time to wait for their applications to be processed. |
| (Source: Mercury News (free reg. req'd),
2008-04-04) |
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| Wasn't 2008 supposed to be the
year of shareholder victory on the executive compensation front? Signs of sweeping change remain
few, and while shareholders were mad about excessive compensation last year, when the economy was
booming, this year, governance experts say, they are livid. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd),
2008-04-06) |
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| A spike to record levels in
pregnancy-discrimination complaints to regulators suggests more women are speaking up about
suspected workplace bias. Pregnancy-bias complaints recorded by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission surged 14 percent last year to 5,587, up 40 percent from a decade ago and the biggest
annual increase in 13 years, and that "may be only the tip of the iceberg," an EEOC spokesman
says. |
| (Source: The Charlotte Observer (free reg. req'd), 2008-04-06) |
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| Lawsuits alleging FLSA
violations regarding payment of contact center workers have landed at the doorsteps of many large
companies, including Qwest, Dell, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase. If these lawsuits move toward a
monetary settlement, the payout could be immense. |
| (Source: CRM Buyer, 2008-04-01) |
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| In the midst of March Madness,
employees may be paying more attention to their basketball brackets than they are to their jobs.
Management often turns a blind eye to the betting pools that events such as the NCAA Tournament
bring about as long as the pot of money doesn't get too large and the managers of the office pool
are discreet. |
| (Source: CCH Business & Corporate Compliance,
2008-04-02) |
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| The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has revived the workplace discrimination claim of a Muslim man who says he endured harassing
taunts, such as being called "Taliban" and "towel head," while working at Sunbelt Rentals Inc. in
Gaithersburg. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Sunbelt on Clinton Ingram's
behalf in the U.S. District Court for Maryland in 2005, alleging that Sunbelt subjected Ingram to a
religiously hostile work environment in violation of Title VII. |
| (Source: Daily Record, 2008-04-02) |
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| The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals held for the first time that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 may be violated where
a white man is fired for associating with a person of another race -- in this case his black wife.
Reinstating the action brought by Craig Holcomb, a former Iona College assistant basketball coach,
the circuit said it disagreed with other courts that have held that such a claim cannot stand
because the plaintiff is not alleging discrimination motivated, in the words of Title VII, "because
of such individual's race." |
| (Source: law.com, 2008-04-02) |
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| Citigroup Inc confirmed it
agreed to pay $33 million to about 2,500 current and former female brokers at its Smith Barney unit
to settle a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit. The agreement also requires the largest U.S.
bank to change how it awards bonuses and assigns accounts, and to adopt measures to help retain and
promote women, papers with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco show. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2008-04-04) |
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| A Sacramento jury agreed that
a woman who worked for a now-defunct business office in Nevada City was the victim of reverse
religious discrimination and awarded her $6.5 million. Most of the woman's co-workers belonged to
the Fellowship of Friends, and she had been passed over for four other promotions prior to the fifth
promotion that prompted the lawsuit, her lawyer said. |
| (Source: theunion.com, 2008-04-07) |
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| A Platte County jury awarded
$2.1 million to a woman who says she was passed over for a municipal judgeship because the Kansas
City Council wanted to hire a minority applicant. Melissa Howard, a Clay County assistant
prosecutor, was one of three finalists for the position vacated by Marcia Walsh in 2006, but Howard
maintained that the council did not choose her because it wanted a racial minority candidate to
replace Walsh. |
| (Source: The Kansas City Star (free reg. req'd),
2008-04-03) |
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| A highly paid former regional
manager at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. has won a federal jury verdict of more than $2.2 million
in an employment discrimination suit alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The
win caps four years of litigation that went beyond whether Nicholas Lore had a serious health
condition meriting time off under FMLA. |
| (Source: law.com, 2008-04-03) |
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| David Carr |
In a decision announced April 8, 2008, the Indiana Supreme Court weighed in on workplace
bullying in a highly publicized case involving a local physician accused of such conduct. In
reversing the Indiana Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court affirmed a $325,000 jury verdict in favor
of an employee who claimed he suffered bullying in the workplace. Although the facts of this case
arose out of the often-tense environment of a hospital operating room, this decision by the Indiana
Supreme Court may have significant ramifications for all Indiana employers.
Read the entire article about the Court's
decision on workplace bullying.
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| Jenifer
Brown |
Sarah
Akber |
Christl
Glier |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently published its supplemental proposed rule
regarding employers' obligations upon receipt of a Social Security no-match letter. The original
final rule was published on August 15, 2007. On October 10, 2007, a federal judge granted a
preliminary injunction precluding DHS from implementing this new rule, concluding that "serious
questions on the merits" of the rule existed. In response to the Court's decision, DHS filed a
motion to stay proceedings to permit it to engage in new rulemaking efforts that it claimed would
address the Court's concerns. The result of these rulemaking efforts is found in this new
supplemental proposed rule.
Read the entire update
on Social Security No-Match Letters.
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As expected, on April 8, 2008,
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS, formerly INS) announced that the annual quota or cap for
H-1B temporary workers for the 2009 Fiscal Year has been exhausted. H-1B petitions for the fiscal
year beginning October 1, 2008 were accepted beginning April 1, 2008. While CIS has not yet released
figures on the total number of cases received, CIS received more than double the annual number of
applications made available for H-1B workers during last fiscal year.
Read the entire article about the H-1B
Cap.
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Don't Just Accept "Evolving"
Injuries
Rita has been being treated for a shoulder injury for several weeks, and now she is complaining
of neck pain. Her doctor may want to do a neck MRI. Her employer should get her past
medical records, and perhaps a second opinion. Many workers, especially older workers, have a
lot of musculoskeletal problems that can start hurting for no apparent reason. Don't accept
these "add-ons" without good medical evidence.
Please contact Kathleen Shortridge or Ann
Stewart if you have any worker's comp questions.
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