Optimum HR Systems

Child Labor Advisor Updated

Following the changes in the regulations, 29 CFR Part 570, regarding certain work environments involving operation of paper-products machines, scrap paper balers, and paper box compactors, considered unsafe and harmful for children between 16 and 18 years old, the DOL updated Child Labor Rules Advisor.  The change in regulations became effective on July 19, 2010 and immediately after that, the online interactive Child Labor Rules Advisor was changed to reflect the information.

The advisor is  part of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) online initiative, eLaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) and provides detailed information for business and workers on various issues related to child labor. It is designed for a several audiences – teacher, parents, youth, employers, etc. , but also on designed to answer questions about workers and businesses that are subject to federal child labor rules. This Advisor provides information at different levels of detail, depending on who is seeking the information, (i.e., youth, parent, employer, teacher).

The Child Labor Rules Advisor is also a useful tool to aid in understanding federal employment laws. The DOL advises that you first visit the introductory page, where there is a wealth of information about the basic regulations, FAQ and introduction to the Child Labor legislation.

To see the change in regulation of 29 CFR Part 570, you can visit: http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/esa/title_29/Part_570/29CFR570.63.htm

For further information on labor legislation, please contact Optimum HR Systems labor law specialist, Eric Heiberg at eheiberg@chvv.com

OFCCP: New employee notification required

Beginning June 19, 2010, Federal contractors and their subcontractors will be required to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act to form, join and assist a union, and to bargain collectively with their employer. Contractors and subcontractors are obliged to post notice visibly in and around their plants and offices so it can be seen by all employees covered by the NLRA.  The advice of DOL is to post the notice where other similar notices and posters are displayed in the contractor’s or subcontractor’s facilities. That includes electronically posted notices on organization’s website, specifically on the career or job section. The notice should be also translated, in cases where a significant portion of contractor's workforce is not proficient in English.

This reflects the requirements to implement the regulations under the Executive Order 13496, signed by President Obama on January 2009. To read more about thee Executive Order 13496, click here .

Clients of Optimum HR Systems, who are Federal Contractors or subcontractors to Federal Contractors can download the  posters with the notice here, or on the DOL Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)  website, or request the posters from the local OFCCP field offices. The DOL will print posters and provide them to the Federal contracting departments and agencies.

Please note that after June 19, 2010 it will be against the law to not post these notices. As DOL informs us, “contractors that violate the Labor Department’s regulations requiring employee notification of these rights may be subject to sanctions, including suspension or cancellation of the contract.”

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is organizing a webinar to give more details on the new notification requirements on June 3, 2010. You can obtain more info about the webinar at http://www.dol.gov/OFCCP/

NEW!!! The Power Point presentation from the June 3, 2010 OFCCP webinar is available to download here.

How Does the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Impact Your Compensation Practices?

by Nancy  Diekmann and Linda Herman (an Optimum HR Systems associate)

When the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law by President Obama on January 29, 2009, it essentially waived the statute of limitations for pay discrimination claims. Now, each time an employee receives a paycheck based on a discriminatory pay decision of their employer, it restarts the 180-day period for filing a pay discrimination claim. If an employee receives a paycheck within this eligible filing period, they may seek lost compensation no matter when the pay discrimination first began.

This legislation stems from Lilly Ledbetter’s lawsuit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She was a supervisor with Goodyear and alleged that she was given poor performance evaluations based on her gender.  Ledbetter filed her initial wage discrimination complaint in 1998 stating the low ratings resulted in her pay not increasing as much as her male counterparts. Those pay decisions affected the amount of pay throughout her employment so that by retirement, she was earning significantly less than her male colleagues. Keep reading...

FMLA New Final Rule and Poster

The FMLA Final Rule will take effect January 16, 2009. The FMLA poster is also revised and can be downloaded from the DOL/ESA website. The DOL says that “Every employer covered by the FMLA is required to post and keep posted on its premises, in conspicuous places where employees are employed, a notice explaining the Act’s provisions.”

There are other forms, which have been revised also to reflect the changes in FMLA, including the revision of Certification of Health Care Provider form (WH-380), which is now divided into 2 forms:

• Employee’s Serious Health Condition Download WH-380-E
• Family Member’s Serious Health Condition Download WH-380-F .
• Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities form Download WH381 .
• Designation Notice to Employee of FMLA Leave Download WH-382 .
• Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave Download WH-384
• Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember for Military Family Leave Download WH-385 .

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For more detail, you may wish to visit the url above or contact Eric Heiberg our expert in the matter. For more information about Eric you may viisit his page profile at Optimum Human Resources Sysems website.