Daylight Savings Time ends November 5: When clocks are turned back an hour in the early morning on November 5th, workers on the midnight shift at that time will actually work an extra hour. Assuming that these workers are nonexempt employees, meaning that they are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), they must be paid for all hours worked. The end of daylight savings time can have overtime pay implications as well. Generally, nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay for all hours in excess of 40 worked during the week. Employees who work an extra hour during the conversion to standard time may go over the 40-hour mark for the workweek and are thus entitled to the higher overtime pay rate for that time. For a copy of the ASE end of daylight savings time poster, click here.
EEOC General Counsel confirmed by Senate – first blind GC ever in history of EEOC: The U.S. Senate confirmed Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP attorney Karla Gilbride on October 17th to serve as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's general counsel, making the veteran civil rights lawyer the first blind person to lead the agency's litigation program. Gilbride's appointment will make history; the EEOC has never had a blind lawyer who was either nominated or confirmed for the general counsel role. Gilbride's installation will also round out a leadership team that recently gained a full complement of commissioners with the August addition of former Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC partner Kalpana Kotagal. Source: Law360 10/17/23
Most employees go to work sick: Nearly 90% of U.S. workers say they worked through sickness over the past 12 months, according to a survey from Bamboo HR, a provider of human resources software. Nearly 65% of workers say they experience "stress, anxiety, guilt or fear" when requesting sick time from their employer, the Bamboo HR survey found. 25%, or one in four workers say they have been either pressured or explicitly asked to work while they've been sick. "People are getting sick and they're deciding they're going to work through sickness," Anita Grantham, head of human resources at Bamboo HR, told CBS MoneyWatch. She attributes part of workers' reluctance to take time off to the current economic climate, in which employers are conducting more layoffs and have regained some of the leverage they lost during the "Great Resignation" when large swaths of workers were choosing to leave their positions. Not good with COVID still an issue and flu season approaching. Source: CBS News 10/9/23
What is the number one issue for workplace injury? A new Atticus study found that mental health issues such as stress and anxiety are now the number one most common workplace injury, making up 52% of all workplace injury cases. Google searches for “burnout” have skyrocketed 63% in September. And it’s not just employees. A total of 43% of middle managers also report burnout—more than any other worker group. As mental health issues are now the number one most common workplace injury, the team at Atticus surveyed 1,000 employees and collected recent data from OSHA, BLS and Google Trends to explore professionals’ mental health decline. According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 76% of American workers report experiencing the end-of-their-rope fatigue and frustration that are the hallmarks of burnout. And perfectionists, more than the average worker, are at higher risk for burnout which has increased from the 1980s until now—the rise believed to be the country’s increases in pressure, stress and anxiety. Source: Forbes 10/9/23
We value older workers, but we don’t hire them: Workers between ages 45-64 made up about 40% of the workforce as of 2020, as compared to 28% in 1990, according to an October 9 report. However, employers may not be hiring talent accordingly, according to research from Generation, a global employment non-profit, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). When asked whether they would hire candidates of specific ages for entry- or intermediate-level roles, hiring managers indicated a strong preference for applicants aged 30-44; candidates aged 45–64 were the least favored. In fact, about 89% of employers said their midcareer and older workers performed well or better than their younger hires. In addition, 83% of employers said these workers learn as quickly — if not more quickly — than younger hires. However, these values seem to disappear during the hiring process. Hiring managers have expressed concerns that workers over age 45 can’t adapt to rapidly changing technology and are less likely to try new technologies. About 52% said workers between ages 30-44 have the right tech skills for work, but only 30% said the same for workers over age 45. Source: HR Dive 10/11/23
It's hockey season and the oldest playing woman suits up: Most octogenarians start to slow down from their sporting pursuits as they cross into their ninth decade of life. At an age when most of her peers are walking carefully and hoping to avoid the dreaded broken hip, 83-year-old Linda Sinrod chooses to step on the ice and compete each week. Sinrod first started playing hockey nearly 50 years ago in 1975, she was often the oldest member of her team. At 35, she was skating on the pond at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale when she was approached by Marilyn Schnibbe, one of the founders of the Washington Redcoats. The Redcoats, now known as the Wolves, were the first women’s hockey team in the D.C. area. As a former collegiate figure skater — she was attempting leaps when Schnibbe approached her — Sinrod had to borrow hockey skates for her first practice. She is currently playing in the first round of the playoffs for the Capitals Women’s Hockey League. Sinrod has already been certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest female hockey player, and she plans to break her own record. But that day won’t be until she’s ready to hang up her skates, this time for good. Our former colleague George Brown will appreciate this as he is still an avid hockey player. Source: Washington Post 10/11/23