HR BIZZ

Yes if the differing amounts of vacation or PTO are based on a clearly-defined employee groupings, such as seniority, department, or exempt versus non-exempt status.
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It’s a common practice, for example, for employers to offer more vacation time to employees who have been with the organization for longer.
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Where you can run into trouble is offering different amounts of vacation on an individual basis or without clearly-defined criteria, either of which can lead to discrimination claims.
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For instance, if Thomas and Alice are hired at the same time for similar jobs in the accounting department at the same rate of pay, but the organization offers Thomas more vacation then Alice could potentially bring a claim under federal or state discrimination or pay equity laws.

As an employer, you have an obligation to take steps to prevent harassment and deal with it thoroughly and promptly when it occurs. If an alleged behavior may constitute harassment, we recommend that you investigate the matter and put a stop to any such behavior as soon as possible.
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Speak to the employee who complained, any witnesses, and the accused employee. Once the investigation interviews are complete, we recommend internally documenting your conclusions and actions taken.
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If you determine that the accused employee violated the company’s harassment or other workplace policy, you should take appropriate disciplinary measures. It is then important to inform both the accused employee and the accuser about the conclusions of the investigation. The employee who made the complaint doesn't need to know the specific disciplinary action you took, just that appropriate corrective action was taken.
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Make sure that you document every step of your investigation and resulting actions taken so you can show that you fulfilled your obligations. Having a clear record will also help you ensure that similar situations are handled consistently in the future.

In 2018, Estée Lauder settled a class action lawsuit regarding gender-specific parental leave for $1.1 million; showing the importance of gender-neutral policies.
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At the time, the cosmetics company offered six wheels maternity leave, separate from medical leave, and only two weeks of paternity leave.
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The EEOC found their policies violated “Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits discrimination in pay or benefits based on sex.”
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While the media often puts a lot of emphasis on equal rights for woman, it is important for employers to consider all employees when creating neutral policies.

As long as you don’t have a contract with the employee guaranteeing them a certain position or rate of pay, you can transfer them to a different position and payrate for which they’re better qualified. Such employment decisions are up to your discretion.
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That said, demotions aren’t always the best course of action. You’re out the money you invested in hiring this individual and preparing them for the management role, and they’re likely to feel embarrassed and possibly resentful. If the employee could perform better with training or coaching, a little additional investment here might save you money in the long run and earn you good will from employees.
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If a job transfer is the right move, however, it’s a good idea to document the performance issues, skills gaps, and knowledge deficiencies ahead of time—plus any measures you took to help the employee improve. That way you can show the legitimate basis for the employment decision if you were ever challenged on it.

An independent research study conducted by Robert Half Staffing found that the March Madness NCAA tournament costs the average employee 6 hours of productivity due to “sports-related activities.”
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46% of employees reported enjoying “sports events like March Madness” in the office
33% of say they’re “on the sidelines”
21% reported not being fans and that they’d rather keep their attention on work
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59% of managers said sports comes up more in conversation during major sports events
55% report seeing “sports-themed office or workspace decorations”
48% have seen workers sporting “team jerseys or other fan attire”
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Does your workplace follow major sporting events?

Data indicates that employers struggle with compliance, specifically regarding FCRA’s disclosure requirements.
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According to the FCRA an employer must provide an applicant or employee with a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure that a background check may be conducted for employment purposes. This disclosure must be provided to the employee in a document that’s consists only of this disclosure.
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The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that a FCRA disclosure cannot contain a liability waiver in 2017. Also, they recently ruled that the FCRA disclosure cannot contain any additional disclosures that may be required by applicable state law.
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Stated simply, the disclosure is only for clearly and conspicuously advising an applicant or employer of FCRA rights and anything else should likely be excluded.

Employers are required to notify their U.S. employees of their intent to hire H-1B non immigrant workers as well as file an H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) according to
The Immigration and Nationality Act and H-1B regulations.
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Employers can provide this notice by posting a hard copy, electronic notification, or, when applicable, by notice to a collective bargaining representative.
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Many employers are now using electronic posting to provide this required notification to employees and so it is important that employers provide this required information electronically to all affected employees, including those employed by a third-party employer.

In Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur (1974), pregnant public school teachers challenged the constitutionality of mandatory maternity leave rules of the Cleveland, OH & Chesterfield County, VA School Boards.
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The Cleveland rule requires a pregnant school teacher to take unpaid maternity leave five months before the expected childbirth, with leave application to be made at least two weeks before her departure. Eligibility to return to work is not accorded until the next regular semester after her child is three months old.
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The Chesterfield County rule requires the teacher to leave work at least four months, & to give notice at least six months, before the anticipated childbirth. Re-employment is guaranteed no later than the first day of the school year after the date she is declared re-eligible. Both schemes require a physician's certificate of physical fitness prior to the teacher's return.
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It was found:
1. The mandatory termination provisions of both maternity rules violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
(a) The arbitrary cutoff dates (which obviously come at different times of the school year for different teachers) have no valid relationship to the State's interest in preserving continuity of instruction, as long as the teacher is required to give substantial advance notice that she is pregnant.
(b) The challenged provisions are violative of due process since they create a conclusive presumption that every teacher who is four or five months pregnant is physically incapable of continuing her duties, whereas any such teacher's ability to continue past a fixed pregnancy period is an individual matter; & the school boards' admin convenience alone cannot suffice to validate the arbitrary rules.
2. The Cleveland three-month return provision also violates due process, being both arbitrary and irrational. It creates an irrebuttable presumption that the mother is not fit to resume work, & it is not germane to maintaining continuity of instruction, as the precise point a child will reach the relevant age will occur at a different time throughout the school year for each teacher.
3. Chesterfield’s return rule comports w/ due process.

You are not required to pay non-exempt employees (those paid by the hour and entitled to overtime) for time spent at company functions when attendance is completely voluntary, no work is performed, the event occurs outside of regular working hours, and the event is not job-related. If these conditions are met, no pay is needed for non-exempt employees.
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Exempt employees (those not entitled to overtime) do not need to be paid extra for time spent attending a company function. They should be paid their usual salary whether or not they attend the voluntary function.

According to a new report by First Advantage, 60% of employers say they always screen candidates’ social media to uncover behavior that involves drugs, violence, bigotry, or other unlawful activity.
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While this might help companies screen out some candidates who might not fit the organization’s goals, experts have warned that employers may discover protected factors about the potential new hires. Therefore, it is recommended that anyone performing social medial screens be trained to only report red flags and not be directly involved in the hiring decision-making.

Giant inflatables in the shape of frightening cartoon rats have commonly been used in the United States by protesting or striking trade unions. The purpose of placing a Scabby the rat outside of a business is to call public attention to companies that are employing nonunion labor.
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In 2011 the National Labor Relations Board held that labor unions’ use of Scabby during strikes and protests are allowed and the use of Scabby during disputes is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.
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However on February 14th, 2019 in Construction and General Laborer’s Union No. 330 v. Town of Grand Chute, Wisconsin, the court prohibited the use of a 12ft Scabby. The First Amendment’s protection of Scabby was acknowledged however, it was ruled that Scabby’s non-compliance with a local sign ordinance was means for removal.
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Under the First Amendment, a government can restrict speech in a public forum if the restriction is content neutral, is narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and leaves open ample alternative ways to communicate the desired message.
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This doesn’t mean we have seen the end of Scabby it does however, mean in certain circumstances a union’s use of Scabby may be limited during a dispute.

Did you know...
Women who try AP computer science in high school are 10x more likely to major in it, and Black and Latino are 7x more likely.
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Computer science majors are likely to make 40% more than the college graduate average.
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90% of parents want their kids to study computer science, while only 35% of US high schools teach computer science.
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58% of all new STEM jobs are in computing, while only 10% of STEM graduates are in computer science.
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There are currently 500,000 open computing positions throughout the country. Last year just over 67,000 students graduated in computer science.
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For more information visit www.code.org