12 March 2024
With employers dropping degree requirements, a new set of potential employees has emerged in the workplace: “New-Collar” workers. According to the Harvard Business Review, many workers are unable to advance because they don’t have a bachelor’s degree and conversely cannot obtain the higher level, higher paying jobs. Since the labor shortage is becoming acute, with an official unemployment rate of 3.9% nationally, and even lower in Michigan in many places,...
5 March 2024
Last July, New York City (NYC) implemented its artificial intelligence reporting Law 144 for New York City Employers. Specifically, the law requires employers to audit and notify candidates about the use of automated employment decision tools.
27 February 2024
Since the Harvard case before the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down preferences in admissions at universities, a Gallup study followed up on American’s views on the use of affirmative action in decision-making. A Gallup Center on Black Voices survey found that about two in three Americans (68%) say that stopping the use of race and ethnicity in university admission decisions is “mostly a good thing.”
20 February 2024
In the past, a vertical progression was the ideal career path for many, especially when it came to salary increases and standards of expected living. Today, the tides have changed. Many employees don’t want to become managers. In fact, often, organizations don’t particularly support their managers. If bad times occur, managers are often the first to be blamed and could be the first out the door.
13 February 2024
As Gen Z continues to assert its presence in the workforce, marked by its diverse composition and unapologetic advocacy, employers are urged to recalibrate their approaches and expectations to foster a more inclusive and productive work environment for all generations.
6 February 2024
On January 30, 2024, the Administration proposed to publish a preliminary rule that would create a series of actions designed to support equal pay activities for workers of federal contractors and agencies as set forth by Executive Orders 14035 and 14069. Essentially, the rule would prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering salary history when setting compensation and will require pay range disclosures in certain job...
30 January 2024
Some organizations are changing from a 401k plan to RBA. IBM is one such organization that is changing its traditional 401K plan to a new approach. IBM currently matches the first 5% of salary that employees contribute to their 401(k) accounts, dollar for dollar, and provides an automatic 1% contribution for a total of 6%. Instead, it will offer a secondary plan.
23 January 2024
With gender identification becoming more fluid, there is an inherent conflict of how to identify a fluid gender employee while respecting religious beliefs. As a result, there are more court cases filed to protect one right with a defense of the other right leaving employers in the middle and on edge at times. This tension can cause disruptions to the culture and to productivity if not addressed properly, whatever that may mean.
16 January 2024
In November 2023, a lawsuit was filed against Amazon based on equal pay in which women are paid less than men performing the same or comparable work. The lawsuit also alleges discrimination in promotions and retaliation against anyone who complains.
9 January 2024
Employers with employees in Colorado must comply with recent amendments to Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) that became effective January 1, 2024. While offering benefits such as cut off dates for applications, it creates more work for HR because it may not be able to standardize completely the new regulations’ requirements.
2 January 2024
On December 26, 2023, representation case procedures changed under a rule published in August 2023 by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). Essentially, the rule is reimplementing the 2014 Obama era “Quickie Election” rules.
19 December 2023
A case was argued last month before the Supreme Court, Muldrow v. City of St. Louis No. 22-193 out of the 8th Circuit, which asked the question: “Does Title VII prohibit discrimination in transfer decisions absent a separate court determination that the transfer decision caused a significant disadvantage?” It should have been an easy case.
12 December 2023
Earlier this year, the U.S Supreme Court, in Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General (600 U.S ______ 2023), redefined the requirements of “undue hardship” in a religious discrimination context and held that it means more than just a “de minimis” burden on the employer. Using the term de-minimis cost is “substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business.”
5 December 2023
The use of forfeitures to offset employer contributions is well established and is explicitly permitted under treasury regulations and is consistent with Department of Labor guidance. So why is this approach an issue now?
28 November 2023
The State of Washington has been a leader in pay transparency law. The Equal Pay and Opportunities Act prohibits gender pay discrimination by addressing business practices that contribute to income disparities between genders. Further, all pay ranges and benefits for a job advertisement must be in the posting. Specifically, a “posting” is defined as any solicitation, including recruitment done directly by an employer or indirectly through a third...