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| Fastenal Company announced that it will pay $10 million to settle a class action lawsuit by former employees who sued for unpaid overtime and work-break pay. The employees, all Assistant General Managers, alleged they were wrongly classified as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and California, Oregon and Pennsylvania state statutes. |
| (Source: CCH Business & Corporate Compliance, 2008-09-12) |
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| The thin line between personal and professional social networking just got thinner, as the use of sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to get the inside scoop on job candidates is on the rise. A new CareerBuilder.com survey found that 22 percent of all hiring managers have combed through social media profiles to help evaluate potential hires, up from just 11 percent two years ago. |
| (Source: MediaPost, 2008-09-11) |
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| The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued the Swissotel in Chicago for allegedly harassing and firing an employee for his mental disability. The suit claims that Swissotel violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when it failed to address Harvis Baggett's claims of being called a "retard" by a manager who then allegedly fired him in April 2005 for his disability. |
| (Source: Chicago Business, 2008-09-09) |
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| Authorities raided a candle manufacturing plant near Phoenix in an investigation into whether the business hired illegal immigrants. Sixty-five people -- most of whom were in the country illegally -- were arrested in the raid. |
| (Source: Forbes.com, 2008-09-11) |
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| It's called computer forensics and it's the next big thing in noncompete clauses. Employers who ask new workers to sign noncompete documents now can dig deep into e-mail and other records to discover whether trade secrets have been swiped on the way out the door. |
| (Source: Philadelphia Business Journal, 2008-09-05) |
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| Between 2001 to 2003, approximately 25 percent of women left the workforce after having their first baby, according to US Census Bureau statistics released this year. Whenever expectant mothers leave the workplace, employers must scramble to fill their positions or redistribute their workloads to existing staff, but for an estimated 104 US workplaces, the solution has been to bring the baby to work. |
| (Source: Christian Science Monitor, 2008-09-15) |
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| Employers are making efforts to offer more-comprehensive financial advice to workers. Previously, most companies had done little more than distribute informational brochures and post tips and tools on their Web sites, but in recent years, prompted by a broad-based shift from pensions to defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s, many employers have been providing workers with access to personalized services. |
| (Source: The Wall Street Journal, 2008-09-16) |
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| Small business owners who are thinking about setting up retirement plans for their employees should be aware that there are two important deadlines coming up in October that affect the plans known as SIMPLEs and SEPs. |
| (Source: USA Today (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-12) |
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| The GAO found that, as of September 30, 2007, over 1.6 million businesses owed over $58 billion in unpaid payroll taxes, including interest and penalties. Of that amount, 70 percent of all unpaid payroll taxes are owed by businesses with more than a year (four tax quarters) of unpaid federal payroll taxes, and over a quarter of unpaid payroll taxes were owed by businesses that accumulated tax debt for more than three years (12 tax quarters). |
| (Source: CCH Business & Corporate Compliance, 2008-09-16) |
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| A kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa that was the target of a sweeping immigration raid this year is not the only venue where the plant's owners are locked in a fight over undocumented workers. Agriprocessors Inc. has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to urge the justices to reconsider their long-held position that workers in the country illegally have a right to join labor unions. |
| (Source: Journal Gazette, 2008-09-15) |
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Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved ADA Amendments Act (the Act), which makes significant revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA). The Senate has already approved the Act, and President Bush has announced his intent to sign it into law. This law, which is set to take effect January 1, 2009, will codify significant revisions to the ADA that are intended to broaden the scope of the ADA and take specific aim at several decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Act makes several major revisions to the ADA that will affect how employers need to analyze potential claims and requests for accommodations under the ADA.
Read the entire article on the ADA Amendments Act. |
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Ice Miller will be hosting a webinar to discuss the ADA Amendments Act on Tuesday October 7, from noon - 1 p.m. (EDT).
Register online for this free ADA Amendments Act webinar. |
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Hiring and Retention of Foreign National Talent and Staying above the Fray in the Illegal Immigration Controversy
September 23, 2008
Hosted by the Indiana Chamber
Presented by Ice Miller LLP
The topic of immigration is very broad and complicated. This seminar will address issues that go beyond the current immigration reform controversy. Topics on the agenda include those that apply to ALL your foreign national employees, including executives, managers and professionals.
Ice Miller clients will receive $50 off the member price to attend this event. Contact Jennifer Sexton-Gillis at jsexton@indianachamber.com or (317) 264-7537 to take advantage of this offer.
Find more information about this immigration seminar. |
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What does it take to start, grow and sustain a business in Indiana? How important is foreign competition? What’s the state’s role in economic development and what initiatives offer the greatest growth opportunities?
Ice Miller LLP, Butler University’s College of Business Administration and Inside INdiana Business have, once again, collaborated to develop, implement and conduct a survey of Indiana’s business executives. Learn more about the 2008 State of Our Business. |
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Safety Violations: Part I
The Worker's Compensation Board may refuse to award compensation under Ind. Code § 22-3-2-8 if the injury is the direct result of the employee's failure to use a safety device or failure to obey a reasonable written and posted safety rule. However, the injury must result directly from the violation of the safety rule or failure to use the device. Obviously, if the employee is not wearing a hard hat and gets a back strain, this does not meet the statutory requirement. On the other hand, if the same employee is injured when he gets hit on the head with something, this may be a good defense. More on safety violations next week!
Please contact Kathleen Shortridge or Ann Stewart if you have questions on this topic or any other worker's comp issue.
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