In this episode, we talk with Les Rosen about the top 10 trends and best practices for 2013 when it comes to background checks and safe hiring. We discuss the use of social networking sites, the EEOC approach to the use of criminal records and credit reports, international background screening, resume fraud, dealing with temporary workers, privacy and off shoring of personal data, and tools to protect against workplace violence. We wrap up the conversation with some legally compliant best practices to keep businesses productive and out of court, as well as steps businesses can take immediately to avoid a bad hire.

In this episode, we speak with Timothy Long and Lauri Damrell about gender discrimination. We discuss why gender discrimination is a family issue, not just a women’s issue. We talk about the growing popularity of multi-million dollar gender discrimination suits and the trends in gender discrimination investigations from regulatory agencies. We discuss specific vulnerabilities for employers in the areas of pay, promotion, and pregnancy discrimination, and provide some practical suggestions on how to avoid lawsuits, and what to do should you find yourself involved in complex gender discrimination litigation.

Drug and alcohol impairment in the workplace presents a danger to employees and the public, causes increased workplace accidents, increased absences, decreased productivity, and lower morale.

In this episode, we speak with Peter Lowe about impairment in the workforce. We talk about the prescription drug pandemic, medical marijuana laws, the new recreational marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado, and the conflicts between federal and state laws. We discuss whether “medical marijuana user” is a new protected class, and how medical marijuana relates to the ADA. We wrap up the discussion with some recommendations for employers on what workplace alcohol and drug policies they should have in place, and how to enforce those policies.

Our guests have shared a wealth of practical suggestions on managing EEO compliance, avoiding employment discrimination litigation, and being  a proactive (rather than a reactive) employer.

In this week’s episode of The Proactive Employer, we’ll be looking back on 2012 and sharing a collection of highlights and best advice from this year’s guests.

In this episode, we talk with Mickey Silberman about what federal contractors can expect from OFCCP in the coming year. We talk about the agency’s enormous regulatory agenda and the practical implications of the proposed changes. We discuss OFCCP’s focus on sex discrimination, compensation discrimination, and the employment of individuals with disabilities, and whether that trend is likely to continue. We talk about the agency’s recent history of aggressive enforcement efforts, and whether that trend is likely to continue into the future. We wrap up the discussion with some steps federal contractors should take now to prepare for the coming year.

The Employer Bill of Rights: A Manager’s Guide to Workplace Law, by Jonathan Hyman, is a practical handbook designed to help managers and business owners navigate the ever-changing maze of labor and employment laws, rules and regulations. The book provides employers with the confidence to make hiring, firing, and other personnel decisions free from the fear of litigation.

In this episode, we talk with Jon Hyman about  why employers need a bill of rights, the areas of greatest concern for employers in the HR and personnel area, and how this book can help businesses make informed decisions and hedge against the biggest errors that too often result in expensive and time-consuming lawsuits.

In this episode, we talk with Amanda Hite about this change in thinking and the concept of “connected, conscious and creative Capitalism.” We discuss why community relationships are critical for businesses, how to create those relationships, and how they benefit sustainable success. We talk about how to incorporate these ideas into business strategy, and the implications for both personal and financial bottom lines.  We also hear from Amanda about some concrete examples of these ideas in place, from the “No Kid Hungry” campaign here in the US, to the work Changers of Commerce have done with Global Hope Network International to help two villages in Ethiopia move closer to self-sustainability.

In this episode, we talk with Patricia Trainor about where President Obama and Governor Romney stand on human resources and employment law issues. We talk about the pending “right to know” employee classification regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, affirmative action, and the National Labor Relations Board’s reach when it comes to social media policies and employee handbooks. We also discuss what the election results could mean for employers and HR professionals.

To celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we hosted a special one-hour round table discussion on disability employment. Guests for this round table include Former EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez, Sheridan Walker, Kevin Bradley, James Rodriguez, and Jonathan Hyman.

The discussion looks at issues such as diversity and inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the workforce, effectively recruiting within the disabled community, accessibility and accommodation, compliance issues and employers’ legal responsibilities under the ADA, and HR best practices with respect to the employment of individuals with disabilities.

These changes encompass everything from tax credits to unemployment insurance to health care to workers compensation. The new rules will be effective as of January 1, 2013, so now is the time for small businesses to take action.

In this episode, we talk with David Siracusa and Evan Collert of Employee Leasing Strategies about these changes, and what small businesses need to do now to get ready.

These are some of the questions the Supreme Court will be looking at during its 2012 term, which began on October 1. While the Supreme Court will be looking at some pretty technical questions, the answers to these questions have practical implications for human resources departments across the country.

In this episode, we look at the 2012 Supreme Court term and talk about the employment law issues the court will be addressing with our guest Philip Miles. We talk about possible rulings, and what those rulings could mean for employers. We wrap up with a conversation about some other hot areas of employment law that lower courts are looking at, and what employers should be doing to prepare in light of the new court decisions that may be coming down soon.

There’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done to get plans in shape and in compliance with the new rules and regulations. There are some things - like preparing to report the value of health care benefits on employees’ 2012 W-2 statements - that need to be done right away. Other things - like the “Play or Pay” mandate - require planning now for implementation in the near future.

In this episode, we discuss what the Affordable Care Act means for employers with guest Darlene Clabault and Rebecca Bentz. We talk about the new compliance issues for employers, such as reporting the value of health care benefits, automatic enrollment, the employer “Play or Pay” mandate, and the summary of benefits and coverage that employers must provide. We also discuss the non-discrimination requirements of the ACA. We wrap up the conversation with some practical suggestions on what employers need to do now to get in compliance with the ACA and avoid some pretty steep penalties for noncompliance.

Wellness programs have evolved from simple subsidies for employee-purchased gym memberships to on-site health care, nutrition events, fitness challenges, education and coaching programs, and health risk assessment and biometrics services.

In this episode, we  discuss wellness and safety programs with Terri Dougherty. We talk about the evolution of wellness programs and what some of the leading wellness programs look like. We  also discuss the link between wellness and safety, and talk about how integrating wellness and safety can increase employee benefits and bottom-line savings for companies. We wrap up the conversation with some practical suggestions on implementing wellness and safety programs, improving programs already in place, and how to overcome common obstacles to winning safety and wellness programs.

The answers to these questions will vary from firm to firm. But there are some guidelines to help you answer these questions and some things to keep in mind when crafting compensation for professional services firms.

In this episode, we discuss compensation in professional services firms with Ann Bares. We talk about how to compensate people on  partnership track, how to reward business development and business origination, and how to structure incentives and bonuses. We also discuss how to value jobs and set salaries in light of little valid market data. We wrap up with a discussion about generational differences and how younger workers are demanding more transparency because of their sensitivity to inequity and unfairness.

“Several or our warehouse employees are foreign, and their personal hygiene isn’t the greatest. Neither is the smell in the summertime. If we require them to use deodorant, can we be sued for discrimination?”

“I have reason to believe that one of our supervisors is using street drugs. He doesn’t do it during work hours or on work premises. Can we require him to seek treatment as a condition of continued employment?”

“We’re in the process of hiring, and one of our candidates was convicted of sexual misconduct. It was a misdemeanor, not a felony. Are we allowed to consider this conviction when making our hiring decision? I say no, but my boss says yes - who’s right?”

“One of my employees posed for a Playboy spread. That’s not the image our company wants to portray - can I legally fire her?”

In this episode, we answer your HR and workplace law questions. No issue is out of bounds, no question is too challenging, no situation is too bizarre for our panel of labor and employment attorneys! We’re joined by Jon Hyman, Phil Miles, Eric Meyer and Robin Shea - they provide candid advice and practical guidance. You won’t want to miss this show!

Last Friday, a disgruntled former employee of a business near the Empire State Building in New York City fatally shot a former coworker and injured nine others before he was killed by police officers.

Unfortunately, violence is a reality of today’s workplace. But there are some proactive strategies employers can use to minimize the likelihood of violence occurring.

In this episode, we discuss workplace violence with Carol Fredrickson, a recognized authority on personal safety, violence prevention, and crisis management. We talk about the different forms workplace violence takes, some of the warning signs that problems may be on the horizon, and some ways to reduce the changes of violence happening in your workplace. We’ll also talk about what to do if the unthinkable does happen.

We all agree that bullying needs to end. When it comes to bullying in the workplace, some think that legislation is the answer. Anti-bullying legislation has been under consideration in several states since California’s original proposal back in 2003.

Others disagree, arguing that anti-bullying legislation will not only fail to solve the problem, but could actually have a harmful effect on employers and employees alike.

In this episode, we discuss workplace bullying with Suzanne Lucas (the RealEvilHRLady). We talk about the extent of the workplace bullying problem, some proposed legislation, and why anti-workplace bullying legislation won’t solve the problem. We also discuss some practical ways to end workplace bullying.

We all know bosses like Bill Lumbergh. As frustrating as it might be, working for Lumbergh really isn’t that bad. He hassles you about TPS reports and makes you work weekends, but he never sued anyone and put them in jail.

Employers suing employees and putting them in jail? There’s always been some tension between employers and employees, but has it escalated to downright hostility?

Some think it has, and see a new trend emerging. When an employee quits, employers are suing them and trying to have them put in jail, particularly if that employee goes to work for a competitor. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the National Stolen Property Act and the Economic Espionage Act have all been used by employers to criminally prosecute ex-employees.

In this episode, we talk about the criminalization of employment law with our guest,Donna Ballman. We discuss the nature of (ex)employer-employee relationships and talk about some of the laws employers are using to criminally prosecute former employees using real-life examples. We provide some guidance on what employers and employees need to know about this trend, how to diffuse the hostility and what each side can do to protect itself. We also discuss some resources available for employees if they find themselves being criminally prosecuted by their ex-employers.

According to a new study, OFCCP’s estimate omitted several important requirements in the NPRM, and under-estimated the cost of other requirements. This study estimates the true cost of the new rule at $5.9 billion in the first year and $2.6 billion in annual recurring costs.

Aside from the financial costs, the study argues “it is conceivable that the costs and inefficiencies of the NPRM will actually harm the interests of disabled workers and all other workers by slowing the hiring process.”

In this episode, we talk about the costs to employers of OFCCP’s NPRM on disability with our guests Leigh Nason and Mark Wilson. We’ll discuss what modifications to IT and HRIS systems would be required to collect and maintain the additional data mandated under the NPRM, the processes needed for providing written explanations of why individuals with disabilities were not hired, the changes needed to implement the annual self-identification survey, and the implications of annually reviewing all physical and mental job qualifications, training employees and developing written accommodation policies.

We can’t give you the answers to every leave and time off question you may have, but we can give you some practical insight into some common situations and how to deal with compliance hotspots.

In this episode, we talk about FMLA and ADA recordkeeping requirements, employee eligibility and leave entitlements, job restoration, medical certifications, accommodations, and key exceptions. We also talk about some new guidance issued by the Department of Labor, and how employers may be affected by recent employee outreach programs sponsored by the DOL.

Our guest for this episode is Jeff Nowak, Co-Chair of Franczek Radelet’s Labor and Employment Practice. He represents private and public sector management clients in all areas of labor and employment law. He has extensive experience dealing with the FMLA and ADA, including counseling clients on compliance, conducting audits and training, and litigating FMLA and ADA lawsuits. HE also authors the well-respected FMLA Insights blog, which was named one of the Top Legal Blogs of 2011 by the ABA Journal. Jeff’s blog assists employers in administering FMLA leave and understanding their obligations under the FMLA.

In this episode, we talk about the ins and outs of employment contracts with Janette Levey Frisch. We discuss some common misconceptions about employment contracts, situations when employment contracts are a good idea, and how to use employment contracts to define ownership of intellectual property and to protect confidentiality. We talk about the basics of non-compete agreements and the questions employers should ask when considering a non-compete. We also discuss arbitration clauses, whether they really streamline the process, save employers time and money, and what to consider when thinking aout building an arbitration clause in to your employment contracts.

In this episode, we talk about immigration and employment eligibility rules with our guest, John Fay. We discuss proposed revisions to the I-9 verification form, who is at risk for an ICE audit, and the dangers of “going too far” in trying to comply with I-9 verification obligations. We talk about E-Verify, its expansion through the IMAGE program, and how to decide whether enrollment is right for your organization. We also provide some practical suggestions on how employers can balance the need for strict employment eligibility compliance and the need to protect employees’ rights.

In this episode, we talk about the EEOC’s Directed Investigation Pilot Project with Katharine Parker and Leslie Silverman. We discuss what we do – and don’t – know about the project, what the project could mean for future enforcement efforts by the EEOC, and why employers should conduct a proactive compensation self-audit. We also talk about some practical things employers can do right now to prepare for increased scrutiny of their compensation policies and practices.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Dobbin for a conversation about the origins of equal opportunity, the relationship between the courts and human resources departments, why compliance is a “moving target”, and the future of equal opportunity.

There are several benefits to starting an internship program, but there are also some concrete reasons not to hire interns. There’s also the question that weighs heave on employers’ minds: paid versus unpaid internships.

In this episode we talk about the five advantages of hiring an intern with guest Heather Huhman. She also tells us three reasons why internships may be a bad fit for your company. Employment attorney Daniel Schwartz talks about internships from a legal perspective and will provide some practical suggestions on common questions like paid versus unpaid internships, expectations of continued employment at the end of the internship, differences in internships at for-profit, non-profit and government institutions, and how to make sure your internship program is compliant with the relevant federal and state laws.

On Monday, April 23, the EEOC announced its unanimous ruling in the case of Mia Macy, a transgender woman who was allegedly denied a job as a ballistics technician at the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Walnut Creek, California laboratory. In the ruling, the Commission stated:

“[W]e conclude that intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because the person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination ‘based on… sex,’ and such discrimination therefore violates Title VII.”

In this installment, we talk about the EEOC’s historic decision, what it could mean for the future of transgender discrimination cases, pending legislation relating to LGBT discrimination, and what employers should do now to ensure their workplaces are free from LGBT discrimination.

That’s the theory of discrimination that was advanced in a lawsuit claiming the Iowa state government discriminated against black job applicants and employees in hiring and promotion decisions.

Considered to be the largest of its kind against a state civil service system, the lawsuit claimed that since 2003 as many as 6,000 African American individuals were not hired or promoted as a result of discrimination. The plaintiffs were seeking millions in lost wages, as well as court-ordered changes to Iowa state’s hiring and promotion practices.

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, District Judge Robert Blink said that plaintiffs failed to prove their “unique legal theory.” Thomas Newkirk, lead plaintiffs’ attorney, promised to appeal the decision.

The “implicit bias” theory of discrimination is gaining interest among employment attorneys, and we may see more of these kinds of cases in the future.

In this installment, we talk about this new theory of discrimination, how it relates to conventional theories, the class-action lawsuit that claimed implicit bias, and what the judge had to say on the issue.

New research confirms what some of us have known for a long time - children who have dinner with their parents are healthier, happier and better students. Robin Fox, an anthropology professor at Rutgers, says “if it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube. A meal is about civilizing children. It’s about teaching them to be a member of their culture.”

So how does Sheryl Sandberg manage to get home to civilize her children during dinner? She’s re-defined what the workday means.

Senator Tom Harkin introduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, a bill that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., and lower the burden of proof for employees to prove age discrimination.

Senator Jim DeMint introduced the National Right To Work Act to “preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities.”

Representative Sandy Adams introduced the Keep Employees’ Emails and Phones Secure Act, a bill that would prohibit the NLRB from requiring employers to provide phone numbers and email addresses of employees to the Board or to a labor organziation.

Representative Carolyn Maloney and Senator Robert Casey introduced the Working Families Flexibility Act. This bill would create a statutory right for employees to request flexible work terms and conditions.

In this installment, we talk about this pending legislation employers can’t afford to ignore with guest Eric Meyer. Mr. Meyer is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Dilworth Paxson. He focuses his practice on employment discrimination and retaliation, workplace harassment, pay practices, leaves of absence, disabilities and reasonable accommodations, non-competition and trade secrets disputes, employment contracts, reductions in force, severance agreements and union-management relations.

Aside from the amplified legal risks, employers are struggling to filter through all of the information that’s now available. Many are asking, should we use social media? If we do, what should we do with that information? How concerned should we be about distorted or exaggerated information on a candidate’s resume? What about candidates with criminal records – what are our obligations?

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer, we talk about how organizations currently use background checks, how they respond to adverse findings, their greatest concerns, and what lies ahead with guest Nick Fishman. Mr. Fishman is co-founder and Executive Vice President of EmployeeScreenIQ. He is the chief pioneer and architect of EmployeeScreen University, a first-of-its-kind online educational learning resource for human resources, security and risk-management professionals. Nick is a frequent speaker on industry issues including new technologies in employment screening, best practices and industry trends. He is also a frequent blogger on the company’s IQ Blog, conducts regular podcast interviews with industry insiders and serves as editor of the company’s quarterly newsletter,The Verifier.

Some HR and Compensation Managers keep 40 or more metrics, and nearly all of them are uninteresting to the C Suite.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer, we discuss the three levels of HR metrics, why your company executives really only care about one type, and how to present those metrics to management so they understand how you are helping to move the organization forward.

Since 1965, the EEOC has served as the nation’s lead enforcer of employment anti-discrimination laws and chief promoter of equal employment opportunity. The Agency recently released its Fiscal Year 2012 to 2016 Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan establishes a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission to stop and remedy unlawful employment discrimination so that the Commission’s vision of justice and equality in the workplace can be realized.

The Strategic Plan lays out three objectives:to combat employment discrimination through strategic law enforcement, to prevent employment discrimination through education and outreach, and to deliver excellent services through effective systems, updated technology, and a skilled and diverse workforce.

In this installment, we’re joined by EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum. She shares information about the Agency’s outreach and education programs aimed at assisting the employer community with EEO compliance. We also discuss how the EEOC plans to incorporate more elements of social media in these programs, the importance of preventing employment discrimination, and why proactive EEO compliance should be a priority for every employer.

You can contact Commissioner Feldblum via email at chai.feldblum@eeoc.gov or follow her on Twitter at @chaifeldblum. You can contact Cheryl Mabry-Thomas, head of educational programs for the EEOC, via email at cheryl.mabry-thomas@eeoc.gov or by phone at 202-663-4811

The contraceptive coverage issue is interesting from several different perspectives. Rush Limbaugh and others have commented on the moral issues, religious arguments have been advanced, and Tim Worstall over at Forbes has raised a question about whether contraception is amenable to insurance as its financing method.

But what many people don’t know is that employers have been required to provide contraceptive coverage under their health plans for years. Back in 2000, the EEOC issued a ruling that an employer’s failure to provide contraceptive coverage as part of employer-sponsored health plans providing coverage of other presacription drugs and preventative services was a violation of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This act was an amendment to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which outlaws (among other things) gender discrimination.

In this installment, we talk about what employers need to know about contraceptive coverage. We discuss the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the EEOC’s ruling more than a decade ago, the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue regarding religious organizations, and other state and federal rulings on contraceptive coverage.

You can help make employee departures as smooth as possible - and protect the interests of everyone involved - by arming yourself with some basic information and by following a few basic rules.

In this installment, we talk about employee departures and associated issues such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, garden leave policies and how social media factors in to employee departures with guest Rob Radcliff.

Rob is an attorney in the Dallas, Texas office of Langley Weinstein. He represents businesses and individuals throughout the state of Texas from trial through appeal. Rob focuses his practice on employment and commercial matters including issues arising from the arrival and departure of employees. He is the author of the blog Smooth Transitions, and writes about the legal issues arising from the departure of employees and business breakups.

While the problem affects all segments of the workforce, low-wage workers are particularly affected. As noted by Maryann Parker, Associate General Counsel of the Service Employees International Union, the shift from manufacturing to service sector jobs has contributed to the problem. Low-wage jobs in the service sector often come with either very rigid work schedules with no flexibility or completely unpredictable schedules with no fixed hours from week to week. Both situations can pose significant difficulty for employees with caregiving responsibilities.

In this installment, we discuss the issues raised during the meeting surrounding pregnancy discrimination and discrimination against men and women with caregiving responsibilities. We also talk about what steps employers can take to comply with the law and implement best practices for the work-life balance.

Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced a bill that would require companies to include information on the composition of women and minorities in their annual 10-K report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, the bill would require employers to report compensation information for all employees and create five brackets of compensation - ranging from the lowest 20 percent to the highest 20 percent - and report the number of women and minorities in each bracket.

In this installment, we discuss some of the ways in which the Department of Labor and Congress are attempting to understand the gender wage gap.

A landmark lawsuit filed in Oregon claims that thousands of disabled individuals are stuck in dead-end jobs at sheltered workshops because of failed state programs that should be helping them obtain mainstream employment. The lawsuit alleges violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and names Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and members of the Department of Human Services and the Office of Developmental Disability Services as defendants.

In this installment, we’ll be discussing the lawsuit and the broader issues of employing disabled individuals with Michael Bailey. Mr. Bailey is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National DIsability Rights Network (NDRN) in Washington, DC.

NDRN is a leading voice for the rights of Americans with disabilities. It works to secure support for disability rights advocacy and to keep federal laws for people with disabilities robust. It works with funding agencies and state systems to assure that public resources are used effectively to protect and advocate the rights of individuals with disabilities.

As if there weren’t enough choices already, there’s a new kind of rewards program that’s beginning to get some notice. It’s called viral pay, and the emphasis is on tapping in to the relationships between individuals.

Could a viral compensation plan work for your organization? To help us understand how these plans work, we’re joined this morning by Ann Bares. Ann is Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group, LLC. She has over 20 years of experience consulting in the areas of compensation and performance management. Through her consulting practice, Ann works with a wide range of client organizations in auditing, designing an implementing executive compensation plans, base salary structures, incentive compensation programs, sales compensation plans, and performance management systems. She is a frequent speaker to industry and professional groups, and has authored numerous articles on the topics of compensation and performance management. Ann is the author of the blog Compensation Force and is the Editor of Compensation Café.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be talking about document retention policies. We’ll highlight the importance of having a policy, and provide a run-down on some of the retention requirements for common HR and payroll documentation.

The OFCCP is proposing to revise the regulations of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 503 prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of disability, and requires affirmative action on behalf of qualified individuals with disabilities.

The proposed regulations outline the specific actions a contractor must take regarding recruiting, training, record-keeping and policy dissemination. Under the proposed regulations, contractors would be required to develop and maintain specific data sets relating to individuals with disabilities. Finally, the proposed regulations establish a utilization goal for individuals with disabilities.

According to Secretary of Labor Hilda Solia, “this proposed rule represents one of the most significant advances in protecting the civil rights of workers with disabilities since the passable of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

In this installment, we talk about the proposed revisions to Section 503 with Leigh Nason. Ms. Nason is a shareholder in the Columbia, South Carolina office of Ogletree Deakins, and she chairs the firm’s Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance Practice Group.

The Proactive Employer Podcast aired its 100th installment on Friday, January 6th! To celebrate, we hosted a live call-in show! Guests Daniel Schwartz, Philip Miles and Jonathan Hyman fielded questions and talked about what the coming year will bring in terms of employment law and human resources challenges.

As 2011 draws to a close, many of us will be reflecting on the year that was. We faced several challenges in terms of EEO compliance, employment practices litigation and regulatory compliance. It’s likely that we’ll face even more challenges in these areas during 2012.

To help you prepare for what’s ahead, we have compiled the best take-away advice from this year’s podcast guests. These take-aways highlight the main issues and provide suggestions on what you can do now to prepare yourself and protect your organization in the coming year.

Misclassification. It’s a subject we’ve discussed before, and it’s still one of the biggest hotspots for litigation and regulatory investigation. The Department of Labor has launched a Misclassification Initiative and is currently working on signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the IRS. Under this agreement, the agencies would work together and share information to reduce misclassification of employees, reduce the tax gap, and to improve compliance with federal labor laws.

But the two agencies seem to be taking different approaches to remedying misclassification. The IRS is offering a new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program. The program would allow those employers who are concerned that they have misclassified employees in the past to voluntarily come forward, rather than waiting for an IRS examination. The Department of Labor, however, is not offering a similar program. Many employers may be interested in taking advantage of the IRS amnesty program, but worry about what will happen on the Department of Labor’s end if they do.

In this installment, we’ll be talking about the IRS misclassification settlement program with Jennifer Neumann and Tamar Dolcourt. Ms. Neumann and Ms. Dolcourt are members of Foley and Lardner’s Labor and Employment Practices Group.

As we approach the end of the year, employers will be confronted with this question as they recognize Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s Day or even a temporary shutdown during the last week of the year.

Accounting for holidays or temporary shutdowns when calculating FMLA leave can be tricky business. With all of the other year-end tasks you’ve been assigned, it may seem like one more compliance issue for you to struggle with when you’re already swamped with other things.

The good news is that calculating FMLA leave around holiday time doesn’t have to be a struggle. There are some simple tips that can help you calculate FMLA leave correctly and confidently.

In this installment, we speak with Jeffrey Nowak, co-chair of Franczek Radelet’s Labor and Employment Practice. Jeff has extensive experience with the Family and Medical Leave Act, and has counseled clients on compliance with FMLA regulations, conducting FMLA audits and training, and successfully litigating FMLA lawsuits. Jeff will talk about the basics of FMLA leave, and give us some suggestions to take the guesswork out of accounting for holidays when calculating FMLA leave.

One of the defenses to a disparate impact claim filed under the ADEA is the “reasonable factor other than age” defense (RFOA). If a selection process has a disparate impact based on age, the employer must show that the process chosen and the business decisions made were reasonable.

In February of 2010, the EEOC proposed a redefinition of the RFOA defense to include a set of criteria for establishing the “reasonable factor other than age”. In May of 2010, EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien testified before a U.S. Senate Committee that the proposed amendments were needed to counteract “a recent spate of case law restricting the rights of age discrimination plaintiffs.”

Two weeks ago, the EEOC voted 3-2 in favor of a draft final rule defining the parameters of the RFOA defense. The rule will now be sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review, and upon approval, published in the Federal Register as a final rule. The general consensus is that the new rule may make it more difficult for an employer to assert an affirmative defense in response to a disparate impact claim filed under ADEA.

In this installment, we talk about the “reasonable factors other than age” defense, the EEOC’s draft rule defining the parameters of that defense, and what this new rule could mean for employers.

Representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Defense and private sector stakeholders testified that veterans with disabilities have unique needs in transitioning to civilian employment, and retaining that employment. Several panelists noted the important role employment plays in easing a veteran’s return to civilian life and recovery from injuries. Ruth Fanning, Director of Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services for the VA, stressed the need for early intervention in the transition from active duty to civilian life. Encouraging injured veterans to plan and work toward civilian career goals “reduces the risk of homelessness, underemployment, or unsuitable employment after discharge from the military.” As George M. Parker, Director of Compliance and Investigations of the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) of the DOL put it, “for wounded and injured veterans, employment can play a significant role in the road to recovery.”

In this installment, we talk about the issues raised during the meeting and highlight some of the ways that barriers to employment for veterans with disabilities can be removed.

Specifically, we’ll discuss the kinds of data required, and talk about how and why bad or missing compensation data can render a data set useless for analysis purposes. Simple techniques for scrubbing data will be presented, and the webinar will conclude with a summary of common data validation tools.

In this installment, we talk about some things to be thankful for when it comes to human resources and employment law. We talk about social media, workplace flexibility and the advancements we’ve made in civil rights for all members of the labor force. We discuss the importance of acknowledging the small accomplishments that happen every day, and give thanks for some resources that make it easier to stay in compliance with EEO regulations and employment law.

In this installment, we discuss how the OFCCP reviewed United Space’s compensation data and why additional data was requested. We talk about the basis for United Space’s challenge, and OFCCP’s response. We conclude with a discussion of the District Court’s decision, and what this decision means for employers.

But is the enforcement path WHD has chosen optimal? Some think that this path restricts flexible employment opportunities, fails to provide for the most positive outcome for employers and employees, and focuses primarily on punishing employers. Others think that WHD’s shift in regulatory and enforcement tactics have made complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act increasingly difficult for employers. They argue that by focusing resources on extensive and often unnecessary enforcement actions, WHD is failing to help good faith employers comply with the law.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we talk about the war on wage theft and WHD. We recap the recent changes to the Agency’s enforcement strategy and talk about the increasing focus on employee misclassification and targeting of specific industries. We also discuss what good – and harm – the new enforcement strategy may be creating.

This webinar will present an overview of adverse impact and how some basic statistics can help you identify whether your selection processes are having a disparate impact on different groups of individuals. Simple examples will be used to walk participants through an adverse impact analysis, and some common tools used in adverse impact analysis will be discussed. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the limitations of statistics in addressing adverse impact.

Specifically, we’ll discuss the kinds of data required, and talk about how and why bad or missing snapshot data can render a data set useless for analysis purposes. Simple techniques for scrubbing data will be presented, and the webinar will conclude with a summary of common data validation tools.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is in the spotlight once again thanks to Republican Presidential Contender Herman Cain. Mr. Cain has recently been addressing allegations of inappropriate conduct. The allegations come from two women who are former employees of the National Restaurant Association. Mr Cain led the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Mr. Cain claims he was falsely accused, and that a thorough investigation found that the allegations were baseless; he did acknowledge that a confidential settlement was reached.

Confidential settlements in sexual harassment claims is a common practice. According to attorney Gloria Allred, confidential settlements are extremely common and many of them are done prior to any lawsuit being filed. According to Ms. Allred, the purpose is to avoid litigation and “keep it confidential, because once it’s filed it becomes public record.”

In this installment, we’ll be talking about what constitutes sexual harassment, some suggestions on sexual harassment prevention, and common ways to investigate sexual harassment allegations. We’ll conclude with a discussion of sexual harassment settlements, and whether they truly are part of the cost of doing business.

What do you do now?

This is THE question - not just for compensation regression, but for any statistical analysis of any kind of employment decision.

If you know what to do next, you’ll be able to evaluate potential problem areas, take appropriate action, and do what’s in the best interest of your organization and your employees.

If you don’t know what to do next, you may overreach and make wide-sweeping changes that can make things worse. You may choose to do nothing, lulled into thinking there are no issues because you’ve overestimated what statistics can tell you.

In this installment, we talk about what to do when your results are statistically (in)significant. I provide five questions to ask that will help you decide what to do next.

Specifically, we’ll discuss the kinds of data required, and talk about how and why bad or missing snapshot data can render a data set useless for analysis purposes. Simple techniques for scrubbing data will be presented, and the webinar will conclude with a summary of common data validation tools.

Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials… does it really make a difference in the workplace?

It seems like we’ve been talking about this question for ages, and everyone has an opinion. While there are some common themes that transcend generation (e.g., everyone wants leaders who are credible, trust in the workplace is important, etc.), there are substantial differences between generations when it comes to core values, the perception of work, and what each group values most.

These differences in the perception of work and rewards, in turn, has implications for your total rewards strategy.

In this installment, we’ll be talking about these differences in the perception of work and rewards, and what those differences mean for base salaries, pay increases, incentives and benefits.

Despite the comments, OFCCP has submitted its proposed changes to the scheduling letter and itemized listing virtually unchanged. Most of the issues raised during the comment period were dismissed by the Agency. Interestingly, OFCCP dismissed concerns regarding the amount of time and effort employers would be required to spend responding to the new requests; the Agency contents that the time required for response will actually decrease as a result of the proposed changes.

The most significant changes to the scheduling letter and itemized listing involve the policy and procedure documentation employers would be required to produce, the way in which employers group employees when reporting employment activity, and the compensation data that would be requested.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be talking about these proposed changes and what they mean for employers with Carla Irwin. Ms. Irwin is the President of Carla Irwin & Associates; her firm specializes in developing and implementing Affirmative Action Programs for federal contractors.

Whenever we make a comparison among employees - for Affirmative Action Plans, in the context of litigation, for internal analysis, or just making selection decisions - it’s important that to get the groupings right.

Typically, similarly situated employee groupings (aka SSEGs) are constructed for comparing employees. But what does “similarly situated” really mean? What characteristics should be considered when building these groupings? How do we know if one employee really is a comparator for another employee?

Getting the right groupings of employees is essential. Not only do our groupings memorialize our view of our workforce, how we group employees can have a dramatic effect on the outcomes of our comparisons. Improperly grouped employees can render a comparison among those employees meaningless.

There is no magic bullet for defining comparators and constructing SSEGs - a rigid formula simply does not exist. In some respects, it’s an art form. But there are a few rules of thumb, and several factors that should be considered.

In this installment, we talk about what makes a good comparator and discuss the rules of thumb for constructing similarly situated employee groupings.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be talking about some of the hot topics in HR right now. We’ll be recapping the Pennsylvania SHRM state conference and giving you a preview of the Ohio SHRM state conference. We’ll give you the inside scoop on what’s hot right now, and where to look for detailed information on these issues you can’t afford to ignore!

A Michigan federal judge took the EEOC to task for its “reckless sue first, ask questions later strategy.” The Court’s opinion made reference to the EEOC’s failure to investigate before filing suit, failure to engage in conciliation efforts before filing suit, and generally making things difficult for Cintas Corporation for more than 11 years.

In this installment, we talk about this landmark decision, what it means for employers, and how it might affect future EEOC investigations.

When evaluating the economic damages in wrongful termination litigation, the central question being addressed consists of two components: (1) what is the likely compensation that the individual would have earned but for the alleged wrongful termination, and (2) what is the likely compensation that the individual can be expected to earn from alternate employment given the alleged wrongful termination.

In this installment, we’ll discuss wrongful termination and the factors that go into a calculation of damages resulting from wrongful termination. We’ll talk about the importance of mitigation and the kinds of information about job search and alternate employment that go into the damages calculations.

Examining your initial selections for disparate impact is an important part of planning for a reduction in force. In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we discuss how to plan for a reduction in force and use statistics to examine your selections for disparate impact.

According to the ANPRM, the purpose of the new tool is to provide insight into potential problems of pay discrimination by contractors that warrant further review or evaluation by OFCCP. The tool is envisioned primarily as a screening tool, although it may also have research value.

Possible uses for the collected data include generating insight into potential problems of compensation discrimination at the establishment level that warrant further review or evaluation by OFCCP and to identify and analyze industry trends, Federal contractors’ compensation practices and potential equal employment-related issues.

Even though it’s only an advanced notice, it gives significant insight into where the Agency is heading and what employers can expect.

In this installment, we’ll be talking about the data collection tool, what kinds of information may be collected and implications for employers.

In Part 2, we discuss confidentiality issues, the National Labor Relations Board and their position on social media, discovery and litigation issues, using social media in recruiting and hiring, and how social media can increase employee engagement.

Like it or not,  social media is something employers have to deal with. But it raises a lot of questions – should we have a formal policy? What should it say? Are there privacy concerns? How to we ensure that our trade secrets stay secret? What if we’re involved in litigation – what’s discoverable and what’s not? It seems like the questions are never-ending.

The good news is that there’s a new resource available to help answer these questions. Jon Hyman’s new book, Think Before You Click: Strategies for Managing Social Media in the Workplace,  assembles an all-star lineup of labor and employment lawyers, bloggers and social media adopters discussing nearly every aspect of social media - from hiring and recruiting,  privacy,  confidentiality and non-competition agreements to social media policies,  discovery and litigation.

The Proactive Employer Podcast has lined up all seven of these experts for a special two-part round table discussion on what you need to know about social media. Jonathan Hyman  (Ohio Employer’s Law Blog;  @jonhyman) of Kohrman Jackson and Krantz will be providing suggestions on how to implement and enforce an effective and workable social media policy. Seth Borden (Labor Relations Today;  @SHBorden) of McKenna Long & Aldridge will be discussing social media,  labor law,  and the flood of NLRB complaints we’re seen recently. Molly DiBianca  (Delaware Employment Law Blog; Going Paperless;  @MollyDiBi) of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor will provide insight into social media and privacy concerns. Eric Meyer (The Employer Handbook Blog;  @Eric_B_Meyer) of Dilworth Paxson will be discussing social media,  discovery and litigation. Philip Miles  (Lawffice Space;  @PhilipMiles) of McQuaide Blasko will talk about the nuts and bolts of social media from an HR perspective. Rob Radcliff  (Smooth Transitions;  @robradcliff) of Langley Weinstein will provide guidance on social media,  confidentiality,  non-competition agreements,  and trade secrets. Daniel Schwartz (Connecticut Employment Law Blog;  @danielschwartz) of Pullman & Comley will be discussing social media,  recruiting and hiring,  and employee engagement.

Our experts have so much information to share, we had to divide the discussion into two parts! In Part 1, we discuss social media as a new way of communication, why employers should be concerned about social media, the continual evolution of social media and how employers can stay up-to-date, and some privacy concerns presented by social media.

The regulatory agenda focuses on supporting the “Plan / Prevent / Protect” strategy to increase compliance. You’ll remember this strategy from the Spring 2010 Regulatory Narrative (here’s what we had to say last year). In short, this strategy places more emphasis on employers managing their own compliance:

“We are going to replace ‘catch me if you can’ with ‘Plan/Prevent/Protect’. In various ways, employers and other regulated entities will be asked to assemble plans, create processes, and designate people charged with compliance. They will be required to implement these plans and evaluate their effectiveness in achieving compliance. While the Labor Department can be flexible about which path is chosen to achieve compliance, compliance will be non-negotiable under the ‘Plan/Prevent/Protect’ system.”

The Department of Labor will be hosting a series of live Q&A webchats during the week of July 11th:

Office of Labor Management Standards - Monday, July 11, 1 p.m. EDT Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Monday, July 11, 2:30 p.m. EDT Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs - Tuesday, July 12, 1 p.m. EDT Wage and Hour Division - Wednesday, July 13, 1 p.m. EDT Mine Safety and Health Administration - Thursday, July 14, 12 p.m. EDT Employment and Training Administration - Thursday, July 14, 1:30 p.m. EDT Employee Benefits Security Administration - Friday, July 15, 2 p.m. EDT

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer podcast, we’ll be discussing the “Plan / Prevent / Protect” compliance strategy and what it means for employers, as well as highlights from the live Q&A webchats.

The podcast will air on BlogTalkRadio at 8:30 AM this Friday and will available for on-demand listening at The Proactive Employer website and via iTunes.

On April 26th, the OFCCP published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled “Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Contractors and Subcontractors Regarding Protected Veterans.” This proposed rule strengthens affirmative action obligations regarding veterans, increases data collection and production requirements for contractors, and establishes hiring benchmarks for veterans.

Joining us to talk about these changes is Ted Daywalt. Mr. Daywalt is President and CEO of VetJobs, the leading military job board on the Internet. Mr. Daywalt is a retired Navy Captain with 28 years of service. He is a published author and renowned speaker. He frequently speaks to businesses, government agencies and universities on topics ranging from recruiting and retention, international relations, general management, and economic trends. Mr. Daywalt is known nationwide as a veterans advocate. He regularly testifies and works with members of Congress on military, veteran, small business and employment issues. Mr. Daywalt is on the Small Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was one of the CEOs invited to the White House Jobs Summit.

In fact, the OFCCP itself estimated that it would take 103.2 hours and cost $135,000 to collect and provide all the data that could be requested in the revised Scheduling Letter.

The third installment in The Proactive Employer’s OFCCP Month line up will focus on this additional data. We’ll talk about what additional data you may have to produce, common data collection pitfalls, and the importance of having clean and up-to-date information. We’ll also provide some tips on how to clean up your data and some red flags that can signal “dirty” data.

Carla Irwin will be joining us to talk about the new scheduling letter, what it’s used for, and changes to the data being requested by the OFCCP. We’ll also discuss the implications of Active Case Enforcement, and what employers should be doing to prepare.

In recent months, the OFCCP has been very busy. The shift from Active Case Management to Active Case Enforcement, the new CSAL Scheduling Letters, the proposed rescission of the Compensation Standards and Guidelines, the publication of proposed revisions to VEVRRA regulations, the promise of more inter-agency cooperation, and the Plan-Prevent-Protect enforcement strategy all have major implications for the way in which federal contractors and subcontractors conduct their day to day operations.

To help keep you up to date on these regulatory changes and figure out what they mean for you, The Proactive Employer Podcast will focus on OFCCP issues during the month of June. We’ve got some great podcast installments lined up.

In this installment, Cathleen Hampton will be joining us to talk about how these changes affect your policies and procedures (you’ll remember Cathleen from her appearance last October on designing performance management systems that work). She’ll be giving an overview of recent developments at the OFCCP, and talking about how all of these changes tie back in to your policies and procedures in one way or another.

Part of the reentry process is finding employment. In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll talk about what the Federal Reentry Council is doing to assist with these employment efforts. We’ll also talk about three common myths regarding employment of individuals with criminal backgrounds. Finally, we’ll give you some resources you can turn to for more information.

There’s also a new high-tech enforcement database that contains information from EBSA, MSHA, OFCCP, OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division. The database is searchable by company name, violation, penalty amount, and year. Additionally, all enforcement data is available for download.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer, we talk about these two high-tech tools and how they fit in to the Department of Labor’s overall enforcement strategy.

The discrimination we’re talking about, of course, is adverse impact. Adverse impact hides in an organization’s policies and practices - it doesn’t arise from personal interaction. With adverse impact, the intent of the decision-maker is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether the decision-maker intended to discriminate or not. Adverse impact is a statistical question, and if you’re not statistcially examining your employment decisions, adverse impact could be hiding in your policies and practices right now.

How big is big enough to matter? How rare does an event have to be before we conclude that pure chance didn’t cause it?

These are the two fundamental questions you have to ask yourself when reviewing your policies and practices for discrimination. These two questions are answered by practical and statistical significance, respectively. Statistical significance has a generally accepted rule of thumb that makes it relatively easy to determine if an event is rare enough to conclude that pure chance didn’t cause it. Practical significance, on the other hand, has no generally accepted rule of thumb; practical significance is a question of judgment. This judgment is critical to assessing and managing the risk of employment discrimination litigation.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we talk about practical and statistical significance. We discuss the differences between the two concepts, and talk about why it’s important to consider both practical and statistical significance when examining your policies and practices for discrimination. 

Recent research suggests that there is a relationship between gender, earnings and obesity. Interestingly, there’s a gender double-standard: thinner women tend to earn more than heavier women, but thinner men tend to earn less than heavier men. The authors of this research state that ”employers have internalized the notion that employees’ weight matters.” Some studies have reported that 60% of overweight women and 40% of overweight men indicate that they have been victims of discrimination.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be talking about the relationship between gender, earnings and obesity, and why some think that the expanded definition of disability under the ADAAA may lead courts to accept obesity as a disability claim.

1. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act;
2. Creation of the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force;
3. The OFCCP’s proposal to rescind the Compensation Standards and Guidelines;
4. The reintroduction of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

On their own, each of these events has implications for how employers make compensation decisions and how internal pay equity is examined. Together, they have the potential to revolutionize the way pay decisions are made, and may change the rules of internal pay equity forever.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be discussing the Four Horsemen and what each means for employers.

The podcast will air on BlogTalkRadio at 8:30 AM this Friday and will available for on-demand listening at The Proactive Employer website and via iTunes.

To mark Equal Pay Day, Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Barbara Mikulski reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act into the House and Senate, respectively.

The Paycheck Fairness Act died in the Senate last November, but supporters promised that they would continue to work on getting this “commonsense” law passed.

In this installment of The Proactive Employer Podcast, we’ll be discussing the Paycheck Fairness Act and the gender pay gap. We’ll talk about what the Act could mean for businesses, how it might affect employment, and whether the Act will have an impact on reducing the gender pay gap.

Written with human resources professionals, compliance officers, and legal counsel in mind, readers are introduced to the statistical analysis of adverse impact. Various tools for examining adverse impact are presented in a non-technical manner. Simple calculations and concrete examples demonstrate how these statistical tools can be applied to questions of adverse impact in hiring, promotion, and termination decisions.

Traditional areas of vulnerability to adverse impact are discussed, and some emerging areas with potential for adverse impact, such as the use of social media in recruiting and employment status as a candidate screening tool, are presented. The underlying sources of vulnerability are explored and pending legislation is discussed. The importance of litigation avoidance is stressed, and suggestions for minimizing the risk of employment litigation with proactive statistical analyses are provided.

The goal of the book is to give human resources professionals and legal counsel a better understanding of the information their statistical consultants are providing. This leads to an improved ability to identify and correct problem areas that may exist within the organization, as well as to prevent problems from arising in the future.

Q: It’s not clear to me: What is the unlawful policy that Wal-Mart has adopted, under your theory of the case?

A: Justice Kennedy, our theory is that Wal-Mart provided to its managers unchecked discretion in the way that this Court’s Watson decision addressed that was used to pay women less than men who were doing the same work in the same – the same facilities at the same time, even though – though those women had more seniority and higher performance, and provided fewer opportunities for promotion than women because of sex.

Q: It’s – it’s hard for me to see that the – your complaint faces in two directions. Number one, you said this is a culture where Arkansas knows, the headquarters knows, everything that’s going on. Then in the next breath, you say, well, now these supervisors have too much discretion. It seems to me there’s an inconsistency there, and I’m just not sure what the unlawful policy is.

This exchange highlights the importance of internal consistency. Whether it’s your claims in a lawsuit, your internal policies and practices, or the way in which those policies and practices are implemented, consistency is key.

In this week’s installment of The Proactive Employer, we’ll be providing a short re-cap of the oral arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, highlighting the internal consistency issue. We’ll also be discussing some practical ways in which employers can ensure that their policies and practices are applied in a consistent manner.

On January 24th, the Supreme Court ruled in Thompson v. North American Stainless that anyone within the “zone of interests” may have a claim of retaliation, even if they did not participate in the original complaint of discrimination. This decision effectively permits third-party claims of retaliation.

About a month later, on March 1st, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision that allows employers to be liable for discrimination based on the bias of an employee’s supervisors. The decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, is being described by many as the most important employment law decision of the last decade.

And now, three weeks after the Staub v. Proctor Hospital decision, the Supreme Court has issued yet another decision relating to retaliation. The decision, in Kasten v. St. Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, holds that the anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act protect an employee’s oral complaints about wage and hour violations.

In this installment, we’ll be discussing the implications of these decisions for employers, and we’ll provide some practical suggestions on how to keep your workplace free from retaliation claims.

Spring cleaning your business is just as important, and if you follow a few simple steps, can be just as refreshing. In this installment of The Proactive Employer podcast, we’ll be talking about some ways you can refresh your workplace by revisiting your compliance policies and implementing proactive analyses to ensure that you’re on the right track.

Joining us today to talk about this decision, and what it means for employers, is Timothy Eavenson. Mr. Eavenson is an attorney in the Labor and Employment Practice Group of SmithAmundsen. He regularly counsels employers on discrimination, wage and hour, and other HR-related issues, and he represents businesses in employment disputes throughout the country. Mr. Eavensen is also the author of the blog, Current Employment, where he writes about issues relating to the workplace and the law.