News Briefs

The 2025 National Benefits Survey Is Now Available

By Allen Fry posted 11 days ago
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As company leaders and human resources professionals, we know that employee benefits are key to a company’s success. Benefits enhance employee well-being, attract and retain talent, boost morale and productivity, and demonstrate an employer’s commitment to their employees. Ultimately, an employer’s benefits program can ...

Idaho Lawmakers Pass Bill to Combat Unemployment Insurance Fraud

By Erika Paulus posted 25 days ago
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Idaho legislators recently passed House Bill 53 , amending the state’s unemployment insurance law to prevent and deter fraud. The bill was signed by the governor on March 11, 2025, and becomes effective July 1, 2025. H.B. 53 updates Idaho’s statute that applies to those who commit unemployment insurance ...

DOT Oral Swab Testing: Still a Work in Progress

By Desiree Sullivan posted 03-19-2025
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Employers who had hoped U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing would expand into oral swab testing will still have to wait. It has been almost two years since the DOT published its May 2, 2023, final rule that expanded drug testing options to include oral fluid testing. With all the advantages of ...

Layoff Announcements Reach Highest Level in Nearly Five Years

By Valorie Waldon posted 03-12-2025
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U.S. employers announced more layoffs in February 2025 than at any time since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to multiple news reports. As reported by Reuters , last month’s 172,017 job cuts were the most since July 2020, with the federal government accounting for about 62,000 layoffs. The total ...

Utah Lawmakers Ban Public Sector Collective Bargaining

By Brandon Garrett posted 03-12-2025
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The Utah Legislature is not wasting time getting bills on the governor’s desk and signed into law. Governor Cox recently signed H.B. 267 , which was hotly contested and at the forefront of debate. The bill amends provisions governing public employees, public safety, and public fire labor. The new legislation ...

New Online Notice Options Offer Streamlined Health Coverage Reporting

By Jana Karr posted 03-03-2025
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Guidance on the alternative methods for furnishing health coverage statements required under sections 6055 and 6056 is now available under Notice 2025-15 published by the IRS on February 25, 2025. The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act provides that employers and insurers are no longer required to automatically ...

NLRB Acting General Counsel Rescinds Predecessor’s Labor-Friendly Memoranda

By Curtis Graves posted 02-19-2025
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On February 14, 2025, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) William B. Cowen issued Memorandum GC 25-05 , outright rescinding 15 policy memoranda established by his predecessor, Jennifer Abruzzo . In addition, t he new memo rescinded 13 other memoranda pending ...

Bill Introduced in Utah to Make E-Verify Apply to More Employers

By Erika Paulus posted 02-12-2025
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The Utah legislative session kicked off on January 21, 2025, and a bill was introduced into the House, H.B. 214, that proposes to amend the threshold number of employees an employer needs to be covered by Utah’s Private Employer Verification Act. This act requires covered employers to use E-Verify or another status-verification ...

Hostile Work Environment Case Results in $99,000 Payout by Airline

By Gayle Moser posted 02-04-2025
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and United Airlines recently reached a $99,000 settlement in a lawsuit for a hostile work environment based on race and national origin. This case serves as a reminder to employers of the costly consequences of failing to promptly and adequately investigate ...

Opinion Letter Reiterates DOL’s Position on Manager and Supervisor Involvement in Tip Pools

By Drew Hintze posted 02-04-2025
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Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), regardless of whether a tip credit is taken, managers and supervisors cannot keep tips unless they “solely and directly” provide service to a customer. The law further prohibits managers and supervisors from participating in a tip pool arrangement with other employees who directly ...

Some Employers Face OSHA Posting and Reporting Deadlines

By Jennifer Vold posted 01-27-2025
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February 1, 2025, is the deadline for certain employers to post their summary of the prior year’s recordable injuries and illnesses as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Employers can use OSHA’s 300A form to provide this summary. While the federal Occupational Safety ...

President Trump Revokes Executive Order on Affirmative Action Requirements for Federal Contractors

By Julia Paris posted 01-22-2025
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Affirmative action programs are facing significant changes. President Trump issued an executive order the night of January 21, 2025, revoking several prior orders regarding federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Among those orders revoked was Executive Order 11246, the 1965 edict establishing affirmative action ...

California’s New ‘Captive Audience’ Law Challenged in Federal Court

By Mary Miller posted 01-20-2025
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The battle between protecting workers’ rights and an employer’s right to engage in free speech has landed in federal court in the Eastern District of California. S enate Bill 399 , commonly referred to as the “captive audience” law, went into effect on January 1, 2025. This statute prohibits employers ...

How Do the FMLA’s Substitution Provisions Interact with State Programs?

By Miller Jozwiak posted 01-20-2025
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On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Opinion Letter FMLA 2025-01-A , addressing how state and local paid family and medical leave programs interact with the Family and Medical Leave Act’s (FMLA) paid leave substitution provisions. The letter provides valuable ...

Wearable Technology Poses Workplace Discrimination Risks, EEOC Says

By Mark Decker posted 01-20-2025
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Wearable technology has become commonplace in society, as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of smartwatch users across the world. That trend extends to the workplace, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released a fact sheet explaining how wearable technology can be implicated ...

SCOTUS Ruling on Determining Overtime Exemption Status a Win for Employers

By Heather Hancz posted 01-15-2025
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Since the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was enacted in 1938, employers have had the burden of proving that an exemption applies to the overtime requirement, which requires that employees receive overtime for work over 40 hours in one week. The FLSA, however, is silent on the evidentiary burden required for an employer ...

Colorado’s FAMLI Division Clarifies Who Is a Government Employer

By Heather Hancz posted 01-13-2025
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As part of the newly issue d regulations for Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI), the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has clarified (and potentially narrowed) how it determines whether an entity is a government entity that may opt out of the FAMLI rubric. ...

Appeals Process Updated for Challenges to FAMLI Decisions

By Jacqueline Talbot posted 01-13-2025
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Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) Division has adopted new regulations as of January 1, 2025, that update the appeals process for everyone who wants to dispute a decision. The update gives employers, claimants, legal representatives, and other interested parties a new platform ...

FAMLI Violations Now Bring Additional Fines for Colorado Employers

By Edward Encinias posted 01-06-2025
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A new year has brought changes to Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI). On January 1, 2025, the second year of employee eligibility for leave under the program began with newly adopted rules in place that, among other things, increase the number of fines that can be assessed against employers. ...

Economic Perspective: January 2025

By Cory Martin posted 01-06-2025
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Employers Council has prepared this Economic Perspective summary to assist the decision-makers of member organizations. The economic data in these charts summarize the most commonly watched economic and compensation indicators. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics can be used in conjunction with Employers ...