Employers broaden impact of diversity and inclusion:  Employers are taking a broader view of inclusion and diversity, and a growing number are now embedding their inclusion and diversity objectives into workplace culture and benefit programs, (e.g., health care, retirement, voluntary benefits, and perks), as well as employee pay and wellbeing initiatives. This, according to research from Willis Towers Watson’s 2019 Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey.   Over the last three years, a majority of employers (55%) have taken steps to communicate their inclusion and diversity initiatives as they pertain to workplace culture and policies, while nearly three-quarters (73%) indicate they intend to do so over the next three years. Similarly, just over half (51%) have promoted inclusion and diversity endeavors aligned with their benefit programs over the past three years, with more than two-thirds (68%) aiming to do so in the next three years.  Attracting and retaining talent (82%) and driving employee engagement (62%) are overwhelmingly the most important factors behind employers taking action to promote inclusion and diversity within their workforce. Leave of absence programs will continue to be a starting point to reinforce inclusion and diversity through benefits. In fact, three-quarters (75%) of respondents have either taken actions on their leave of absence programs or plan to this year or next, giving more employees the opportunity to balance their unique work/life situation.  Source:  Willis Towers Watson

Generation Z career path expectations:  More than 75% of Gen Z members believe they should be promoted in their first year on the job, according to a recent survey of 1,000 participants ages 18 to 23 by InsideOut Development, a workplace-coaching company. Employers see similar patterns among younger millennials in their late 20s and early 30s.  The trend has managers scrambling to manage young employees’ expectations without driving them out the door. Many are finding new ways to respond, by carving out step-by-step career paths for restless new hires or handing out new titles or small bonuses. A few hold “workversary” celebrations for employees passing the one-year mark to recognize their accomplishments on the job.  Young employees who push too hard risk derailing their careers by projecting a sense of entitlement. Alex Klein, a vice president and recruiter at VaynerMedia, an 800-employee global agency based in New York, says new recruits are constantly questioning him about promotion opportunities. Many also ask to be considered for a raise earlier than the agency’s customary timetable.  ASE’s 2019 Starting Salaries for Co-op Students and Recent College Graduates Survey validates this concern.  Its data revealed that the top three perceived shortcomings of recent college graduates are: 1) career expectations (62%); 2) adaptation to work environment (60%); 3) compensation expectations (53%)  Source:  Wall Street Journal 4/10/19

Should your company’s vacation policy apply to independent contractors too? Can you grant your independent contractors a certain amount of paid vacation?  It’s not a good idea.  In the various tests for Independent Contractor vs. Employee, one of the recurring themes is that a contractor is in business for himself/herself.  The contractor is supposed to be able to work when he or she wants, so long as deadlines are met. Providing paid vacation to an independent contractor may seem like a nice thing to do, but it’s not consistent with the idea of being an independent contractor. Vacation should be an employee benefit, not a perk available to contractors too. You shouldn’t be paying contractors for not performing work. Offering your independent contractors employee benefits like paid vacation could get noticed by regulators as a sign of independent contractor misclassification. Paid vacation for contractors would also be a negative fact in any misclassification lawsuit.  Source: Baker Hostetler LLP 4/11/19

EEOC announces reduction in charges FY 2018: The EEOC took in 76,418 charges of workplace discrimination in fiscal year 2018, according to data released by the agency on April 10. Notably, the EEOC resolved 90,558 charges of discrimination and secured $505 million for victims in private sector, state and local government, and federal workplaces, the agency highlighted in a release.  As has been the case since 2009, retaliation claims accounted for the greatest percentage of total charges filed in FY 2018—51.6%. Back in 2009, there were 33,613 retaliation claims alleged and 33,579 race discrimination claims, both coming in at 36% of total charges filed.   The FY 2018 data also showed that sex discrimination was the second most frequently alleged claim in charges filed with agency, followed by disability and race discrimination.  Source:  EEOC.gov

OFCCP proposes construction compliance checks:  In furtherance of its work as an enforcement agency and its commitment to conduct reviews of more contractors, OFCCP posted in the Federal Register on Monday, April 8, 2019 its proposal for a series of compliance check audit letters for construction contractors. The agency is requesting feedback on two proposed construction compliance check letters – federally assisted versus a direct federal contract. OFCCP proposes that construction companies that hold direct federal contracts will be required to submit: Personnel records that “list construction trade employment activity (applicants, hires, promotions, layoffs, recalls, voluntary terminations, and involuntary terminations), including the name, job classification, gender, race and/or ethnic designation for each employee or applicant.” They also need to submit payroll records, job advertisements, Section 503 and VEVRAA affirmative action plans, Section 44(k) veteran and disability analytics, requests for accommodations, and veteran hiring benchmark.  The submission for federally assisted contractors would include only: Personnel records that “list construction trade employment activity (applicants, hires, promotions, layoffs, recalls, voluntary terminations, and involuntary terminations), including the name, job classification, gender, race and/or ethnic designation for each employee or applicant,” payroll records, job advertisements, and requests for accommodations.  Comments on the proposal are due on June 7, 2019.  Source:  Jackson Lewis 4/101/9

Kim Kardashian, Attorney at Law:  Kim Kardashian revealed in a new Vogue interview that she’s planning to become a lawyer—minus the three years of cold calls, study groups, and final exams.  Instead of law school, Kardashian says she has begun a four-year course of legal study with an unnamed San Francisco law firm. The State Bar of California allows people to bypass law school if they study under a lawyer or judge, a system that is commonly referred to as apprenticeship but is not widely used. If true, Kardashian will have to beat tough odds on the California bar exam, which has proven a challenge for many takers who spent years in law school and have Juris Doctors. Just 41% of those who took the July California bar exam passed, with the vast majority having attended law school. That rate was under 3% for the small number of people who sat for exam under California’s “four-year qualification” provision, according to state bar statistics.  The reality television star is, of course, the daughter of the late Robert Kardashian, who was among the team of lawyers who represented O.J. Simpson in his 1995 murder trial. More recently, Kim Kardashian has been involved in criminal justice reform efforts, helping to successfully push President Donald Trump to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson—a 63-year-old grandmother who had been in an Alabama prison since 1996 for a nonviolent drug conviction.  Source: law.com 4/10/19