UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE / SOCIAL SECURITY
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Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) introduced the Crime Victims Employment Leave Act (H.R. 5845) on April 17, 2008, which would extend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to protect victims of violent crime and domestic violence. Specifically, the legislation would protect victims of violent crimes and domestic violence and their families from being terminated or demoted by offering them time off under the FMLA for the required court proceedings. The proposed bill has been referred to the House Education and Labor Committee, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Administration Committee. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,807.
The AFL-CIO called on the Bush Administration to drop its proposed changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as outlined in proposed amendments to the FMLA's regulations released in February by the Department of Labor (DOL). The union said the pending rule revisions "would make it more difficult for workers to get the time off they need to care for themselves or their loved ones in emergencies." The union federation made its comments pursuant to the open comment period on the proposed regulations, which concluded on April 11. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,792.
The Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) has caused a rise in the number of class actions filed in the federal courts, according to a study released by the Federal Judiciary Center. However, much of the growth in total class action activity was driven by increased filings based on federal question jurisdiction, and thus not directly attributable to CAFA's expansion of the federal courts' diversity of citizenship jurisdiction. District courts saw a 72 percent increase in class action activity, a majority of which were opt-in collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,784.
Western-style pay and benefit practices are on the increase in the Middle East, according to a regional survey of current practices and plans within multinational companies, recently conducted by Mercer. The survey showed the traditional focus on high basic salaries and cash allowances is shifting towards long-term incentives and "protection" benefits like pensions and medical, life and disability insurance. Additionally, lifestyle benefits such as company car allowances and leave entitlements are increasingly important, while allowances for housing, transport and education remain popular. The changes in benefit practices are being driven by the continuing increase in multinational companies based in the region, an expansion of the expatriate workforce (some 85 percent of Dubai's population is now expatriate), and greater mobility of expatriates between jobs. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), changes in legislation have also strongly contributed to the trend. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,785.
An alarming number of U.S. employees spend valuable time during their work days dealing with more than just regular job duties, according to a recent survey of 1,000 full-time employees. For many workers, their family, financial, home or automobile legal woes compete for time and attention—resulting in lower job performance, productivity and morale. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,794.
In March, employers took 1,571 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 23. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 157,156, on a seasonally adjusted basis. March layoff events and associated initial claimants were the highest for the month of March since 2003. The number of mass layoff events in March 2008 decreased by 101 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 20,218. However, the seasonally adjusted figures for February 2008 mass layoff events and initial claims were inflated due to an unusual calendar effect. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,808.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and the attorneys general of 18 other states and Puerto Rico, asked the US Supreme Court to rule that employers cannot retaliate against an employee involved in an employer's investigation of sexual harassment. The amicus, or "friend of the court," filing supports a female employee who was discharged after participating in a company investigation of sexual harassment. The case at issue, Crawford v Metro Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tenn (Dkt No 06-1595), addresses whether Title VII's anti-retaliation provision protects employees from being discharged for voluntarily cooperating in their employer's internal investigations of sexual harassment. CCH Human Resources Management Daily Document Update ¶24,800.
A large majority of you, 70 percent, utilize workers who aren’t classified as employees. According to the February online poll results, 47 percent of respondents use “contractors” while 23 percent utilize contractors but worry they might be “employees.” Eleven percent of respondents said they do not use independent contractors, unless you count their temporary employees and 19 percent said they have only true “employees.” There were 253 participants in the February poll.
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