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Substance abuse negatively affects employers through lost productivity, absenteeism, low morale, higher turnover, increased accidents and increased health costs. The Working Partners Report, a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, and the SBA, and Office of National Drug Policy Control, estimates that 38 percent to 50 percent of all workers compensation claims are related to substance…

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Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final regulations related to the FLSA’s “white collar” exemptions, which apply to executive, administrative, and professional employees. Here are the key points on what has been changed: Salary Threshold Has Increased To $913/week In order for an employee to qualify for a white collar exemption, his…

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On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed revised regulations related to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s “white collar” exemptions, which apply to executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees. The publication date of the final regulations remains uncertain, but a growing consensus is that they are likely to be…

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As of October 1, 2015, a liability shift has occurred between credit card companies and retailers/restaurants with regard to EMV chip cards. EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, is a global standard for cards equipped with chips and the reader technology used to authenticate chip card purchases.  In the wake of widely publicized…

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On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed revised regulations related to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s “white collar” exemptions, which apply to executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees.  These long-awaited revisions are in response to President Obama’s March 2014 Memorandum directing the DOL to “modernize and streamline” the…

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Last Tuesday, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot petition requiring employers to provide sick time to their employees. Given that many employers already provide employees with some form of paid time off (PTO) benefits, there is a temptation to simply ignore the requirements of this statute. However, the Sick Time Law will affect virtually all employers,…

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First Circuit finds that employer can be liable for jilted co-worker’s actions to get employee fired. On May 23, 2014, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, in Velazquez-Perez v. Developers Diversified Realty Corp., found that an employer can be liable for the actions of a jilted co-worker that caused the plaintiff’s termination.  In this issue of first…

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In EEOC v. Ford Motor Co., the Sixth Circuit recently found that an employee request to telecommute “as needed” could be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).  This is not a new concept under the ADA.  Since as early as 2005, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has cautioned employers that requests…

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Despite employers becoming increasingly more sophisticated in recognizing workplace discrimination, many still drop the ball by mishandling employee complaints.  Ignoring a complaint of discrimination not only increases an employer’s liability to that particular employee, it also demonstrates to other employees that the company’s policy is ineffective, which potentially strengthens future claims as well.  Accordingly, quickly and effectively resolving complaints of discrimination is the best way…

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