Compliance: Page 18
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Groupon to fund STEM training for Black students after EEOC probe
The company had been the subject of an EEOC discrimination charge filed in 2014 by an applicant who alleged Groupon failed to hire him on the basis of his race.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 9, 2024 -
DOL independent contractor final rule announced, will take effect March 11
The rule largely tracks the agency’s October 2022 proposed rule, adopting a six-factor, “totality-of-the-circumstances” framework for analyzing worker-employer relationships.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 9, 2024 -
Column // Employee Experience
Costco’s response to union vote is a lesson in graceful leadership
The Teamsters victory was a “failure on our part,” company leadership said. HR Dive reporter Caroline Colvin thinks HR pros, managers and the C-suite have a lot to learn from this simple gesture.
By Caroline Colvin • Jan. 8, 2024 -
Age motivated the firing of scouts for MLB’s Detroit Tigers, suit alleges
The suit mirrors a set of age discrimination allegations made by Major League Baseball scouts in June 2023.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 8, 2024 -
What Congress’ new attempt to strengthen age bias laws means for employers
The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act would restore the “mixed-motive” test struck down by a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 8, 2024 -
SpaceX challenges NLRB’s authority after unfair labor practice charge
The company questioned the constitutionality of both the board’s administrative law judges as well as a hearing scheduled for the charge in March.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 5, 2024 -
Ex-EY receptionist claims staff said she was ‘too old,’ ‘too sick’ to work after stroke
The firm wrongfully terminated the plaintiff after she complained of harassment and discrimination on the basis of her race, gender, sex, age and disability, she alleged.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 3, 2024 -
UPS will pay $150K to settle claims it fired diabetic employee after he asked for breaks, EEOC says
In addition to the payment, it agreed to train the HR department on how to properly respond to a request for a reasonable accommodation.
By Laurel Kalser • Jan. 2, 2024 -
Heightened labor scrutiny looms over workplace rules
Employer policies that might otherwise be routine are likely to attract NLRB attention since the agency changed its evaluation standard.
By Jessica Mach • Jan. 2, 2024 -
The top 5 California employment law changes for 2024
HR pros in the state will see changes to paid leave, cannabis rights and more.
By Kate Tornone • Dec. 29, 2023 -
Schuff Steel pays $500K to settle alleged harassment of Black and Latino workers
Under a three-year consent decree, the company must also provide detailed training to HR staff and employees.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 28, 2023 -
Whole Foods’ ban on Black Lives Matter gear did not violate workers’ rights, NLRB judge says
Defying a dress code due to perceived racism does not fall under protected concerted activity, the administrative law judge held.
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 21, 2023 -
Volkswagen denies union-busting claims as UAW files another unfair labor complaint
The union said the automaker’s social media, dress code and flier policies are “unlawful” and “have a chilling effect on workers’ rights” to publicly discuss labor conditions and organize.
By Michael Brady • Dec. 19, 2023 -
Activision Blizzard, California regulators settle sex bias claims for $54M
The agreement, subject to court approval, resolves pay bias claims and comes after more than two years of litigation between the video game publisher and regulators.
By Ryan Golden • Updated Dec. 19, 2023 -
Court tosses Bimbo Bakeries’ counterclaim against drivers seeking FLSA overtime
If allowed, the claim would give employers incentive to misclassify employees as independent contractors and then seek reimbursement for the violation, the court said.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 18, 2023 -
Jury orders Jefferson University to pay $15M after investigation allegedly ran afoul of Title IX
The investigation was biased because the surgeon was a man, while his counter-accuser was a woman, the plaintiff alleged.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 18, 2023 -
McDonald’s to survey franchisees on child labor practices
The U.S. Department of Labor fined Golden Arches operators in five states for using workers as young as 10 years old, making them work longer than permitted and putting them in dangerous environments.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Dec. 18, 2023 -
EEOC inks $90K age discrimination settlement for 49-year-old rejected for sales job
The agency alleged that Exact Sciences turned down the applicant because it sought “more junior” workers.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 15, 2023 -
LinkedIn to pay $6.75M in ERISA class-action settlement
Plaintiffs said the social media giant acted “imprudently” in its management of an employee 401(k) plan.
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 14, 2023 -
Business owner ordered to attend anti-retaliation training after allegedly interfering with DOL investigation
The owner allegedly threatened to fire workers who assisted in a DOL investigation.
By Ginger Christ • Dec. 14, 2023 -
McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Wendy’s franchisees face ‘convict leasing’ suit in Alabama
Incarcerated workers are suing Alabama and employers, including franchisees of major restaurant chains, over an alleged system of coerced labor.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Dec. 14, 2023 -
Prison guard may have right to firearm accommodation, 10th Cir. says
A proposed disability accommodation is not automatically unreasonable — and must still be considered — even if it appears to violate a neutral policy, the court said.
By Laurel Kalser • Dec. 11, 2023 -
Red offices for women, blue for men? SCOTUS mulls Title VII harm standards
The justices may take aim at some federal courts’ requirements that employees show a discriminatory practice has caused them “significant disadvantage.”
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 11, 2023 -
Court approves Cargill’s $2.4M settlement of Kronos outage wage claims
Employees alleged that the Kronos Private Cloud ransomware attack resulted in unpaid wages and overtime, among other damages.
By Ryan Golden • Dec. 8, 2023 -
Pay transparency laws risk colliding with antitrust concerns
HR leaders are being instructed to tread carefully when talking about wage and salary information among peers, even casually.
By Ramona Dzinkowski • Dec. 8, 2023