labor lawAdivision of labor law center

With the current economic crisis, many employers are considering giving workers additional unpaid time off during the holidays. This includes giving workers Friday, November 28 (the day after Thanksgiving) and/or Friday, December 26 (the day after Christmas) off without pay.

Other employers are considering closing for an entire week between Christmas and New Years.

However, these tactics raise issues around the payment of exempt salaried employees that every employer needs to be aware of. (more…)

Thirty-one U.S. states have laws requiring employers to give workers time off to vote. The penalties for employers who don’t give workers time off to vote can be severe.

In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, Election Day is a legal holiday. This includes any day a referendum is held. General elections are legal holidays in the Virgin Islands, and employees who give prior notice must be permitted two hours off, with pay, to vote.

Internationally, in many countries, election day (more…)

A number of states require employers to give workers time off to vote, including voting in the presidential election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

According to CCH, a nationwide leader in labor and employment information, more than half of the U.S. states have laws that mandate time off to vote. Employers who do not comply face fines and even jail time.

The states that do not require employers to give workers time off to vote are: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Hersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

In many states, (more…)

A new Colorado law requires employers to make accommodations for nursing mothers in the workplace.

Under the new law, statute 8-13 5-104 CRS, both public and private employers must provide reasonable unpaid break time or permit an employee to use paid (more…)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC recently  issued a comprehensive question-and-answer guide that clarifies performance and conduct issues under ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The document addressing a wide variety of problems, is available in its entirety at  www.eeoc.gov/facts/performance-conduct.html.

Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act , employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities is prohibited.

However, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act generally do not impinge (more…)