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Please Click HerePosted on January 25, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Staying up-to-date and compliant with new laws, rules, and regulations is an ever increasing cost of doing business. Despite the fact that at the end of 2015 Congress took important steps to provide businesses with long-term certainty by permanently extending the federal Research and Development Tax Credit and the Section 179 expensing deduction, much was […]
Posted on January 11, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A recent lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a reminder that employers have a duty to accommodate an applicant for employment if the applicant identifies the need for accommodations during the application/interview process. The EEOC recently sued McDonalds Corporation for its alleged refusal to interview a deaf job applicant. The applicant indicated […]
Posted on January 7, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has dismissed a claim by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) that a company’s wellness program violates the American’s with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The company, which has a manufacturing facility in Baraboo, Wisconsin, offered to its employees the ability to participate […]
Posted on December 30, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Companies that use anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant may be regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Risk Management Plan program under the Clean Air Act and by OSHA’s Process Safety Management program under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Section 112(r)(1) of the Clean Air Act provides that owners and operators of stationary […]
Posted on December 21, 2015 by Mary Ellen Schill
Falling gasoline prices have finally gotten the attention of the IRS! Late last week the IRS issued the standard mileage rates for determining the deductible cost for operating automobiles for various purposes (business, medical, charitable) beginning January 1, 2016. Details can be found here. Of most interest to employers, the mileage rate for business mileage […]
Posted on December 9, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Much ink has been spilled by those writing about the attention-grabbing, nationwide, consolidated wage and hour lawsuit brought by current and former minor-league professional baseball players. The case is Senne v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Case No. 3:14-00608-JCS, venued within the federal U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. As a […]
Posted on December 9, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The “quickie election” rules promulgated by the National Labor Relations Board have been in effect since April 14, 2015. Thus far, predictions have come true as the time it takes to file a union petition to the time of the election has been dramatically shortened. On the other hand, the number of petitions filed for […]
Posted on December 7, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
In the aftermath of the National Labor Relations Board’s recent, controversial Browning-Ferris Industries “joint employment” decision [362 NLRB No. 186], many within the management-side legal community [myself included] issued portentous predictions about the future –including Trojan Horse organizing tactics and the adverse impact on pervasive contingent workforce arrangements. However, one of the Board’s Regional Directors […]
Posted on November 23, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Employers often establish a light-duty program that is reserved for employees who have work-related injuries or conditions during their healing periods. The hallmarks of these programs is that temporary light-duty work is reserved for those employees receiving temporary benefits under worker’s compensation. The rationale for this program is to help the employer comply with the […]
Posted on November 19, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
In a surprise announcement, the Solicitor of Labor, Patricia Smith, has indicated the final rule on overtime eligibility being considered by the Department of Labor will likely not be declared final and implemented until late 2016. During a panel discussion at the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Conference, Solicitor Smith indicated there were […]