Major disconnect between employees and managers on value of performance reviews: Reflektive, the real-time performance management cloud company, today announced the results of a new study that reveals a massive disconnect between employees’ and business leaders’ perspectives on the current state of performance feedback and management. Most notably, the widespread lack of real-time feedback and development causes friction and dissatisfaction, which hinders business and employee performance and growth.  The Growth Divide Study, conducted by Wakefield Research and commissioned by Reflektive, found that while 94% of executives are confident that employees are satisfied with their company’s performance review process, the reality is most employees feel the process is outdated (61%) because it’s too generic (22%) or too infrequent (6%), and often incomplete (62%).  In fact, while nearly 70% of companies still cling to an annual or bi-annual performance review schedule, more than half of office professionals say that’s not nearly enough–they want performance check-ins at least once a month. Even more (94%) actually would prefer their manager address mistakes and development opportunities in real-time, which enables more agility through coaching and behavior changes to address skills gaps and shifting strategies. Source: Reflektive 4/4/18

H-1B petitions hit cap: USCIS has reached the congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2019. USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap.  The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited multiple filings. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap.  Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the FY 2019 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:  extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.  Source: USCIS 4/5/18

The United Kingdom publishes gender gap pay figures:  Final gender pay gap figures for large companies in the UK have been revealed after the deadline expired for firms to report their findings. More than three-quarters of UK companies pay men more on average than women, BBC analysis of government figures suggests. More than 10,000 companies published data, with more than 1,000 firms reporting on the last day. The median pay gap among those companies was 9.7%. The figures indicate 78% of firms pay men more than women on average, while 14% pay women more. This is based on the median measure, which is the level of pay that separates the top half of earners from the lower half. In total, 8% said they had no pay gap between men and women.  Source:  BBC News 4/5/18

New York State to require mandatory harassment training: The NY State budget was signed into law last week.  The employment related provisions are set forth in S7507-C. In particular, all employers must have a policy against harassment that prohibits sexual harassment and provide examples of prohibited conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment; include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment and a statement that there may be applicable local laws; include a standard complaint form;  include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints and ensure due process for all parties; inform employees of their rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating sexual harassment complaints administratively and judicially; clearly state that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct and that sanctions will be enforced against individuals engaging in sexual harassment and against supervisory and managerial personnel who knowingly allow such behavior to continue; and clearly state that retaliation against individuals who complain of sexual harassment or who testify or assist in any proceeding under the law is unlawful.  There will also be mandatory harassment training required.  As to the frequency of training it is unknown at this time.  Source: Fox Rothschild 4/3/18

OFCCP drops veteran goal to 6.4%:  OFCCP has lowered the 2018 Annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark to 6.4%, effective March 31, 2018. The hiring benchmark is the total number of hires who are protected veterans that the contractor seeks to hire in the following year.  Contractors required under VEVRAA to develop a written affirmative action program also must establish a hiring benchmark for protected veterans each year, or adopt the national benchmark provided by the OFCCP. Under either approach, contractors must compare the percentage of employees who are protected veterans in each of their establishments to the hiring benchmark set for that establishment. The result of the comparison should be used when assessing the effectiveness of that contractor’s veteran outreach and recruitment efforts. Contractors who wish to establish their own customized benchmark should visit https://ofccp.dol–esa.gov/errd/VEVRAA.jsp.  Source:  OFCCP

EEOC uses long dead employees to level discrimination charge against employer: A California company accused the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and its lawyers of waging a “bad-faith campaign” by concealing the fact that both of the people named in an agency suit last year were long dead. The initial charges filed with the EEOC by Alfred Davis and Marvell Moon that Marquez Brothers International Inc., a packaged food maker, engaged in discriminatory hiring practices at its Hanford, California, facility came in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The case was largely dormant for several years, until an EEOC determination in 2015 and filing of the suit.  However, when the suit was filed, both of the charging parties listed in the complaint were dead, a fact the EEOC actively concealed from the court until a January hearing, according to a defense motion seeking nearly $300,000 in sanctions and the end of the suit.  In a motion to dismiss the suit, the company was seeking nearly $300,000 in sanctions and stated that “[e]ven worse, prior to finally admitting the truth, the EEOC repeatedly suggested in its representations to the defendants and this court that the charging parties were still alive.” The company further said that “[t]he EEOC should have never filed this case,”, citing the involvement of EEOC regional director Anna Park in another California case in which charging parties were dead. “At the very least, the EEOC should have recognized that the defendants and the court both would have had an interest in determining whether the case could proceed at all at the beginning of the litigation.”  The EEOC in response denied any inappropriate actions.  Source:  Law360 4/5/18