Workforce Bulletin

By Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz

As you know if you are a reader of our blog, in 2010 the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published updated regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which adopted the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (“2010 Standards”). As we explained here, the 2010 Standards contain specific accessibility requirements for a number of types of recreational facilities, including swimming pools, wading pools and spas. As we also reported in this blog here, while the effective date of the 2010 Standards generally is ...

By Alexis M. Downs

OSHA recently increased the amount of information that is publically available on OSHA’s website regarding “variances.”  Variances are alternative methods for addressing a safety hazard that do not technically comply with OSHA standards.  OSHA has allowed employers to formally apply for variances for more than 30 years, yet there are currently fewer than 30 approved variances in effect.

A variance does not actually grant relief from the standard, but rather, allows for a different method of addressing the hazard or gives a temporary reprieve under certain ...

OSHA recently identified the 10 most frequently cited standards from FY 2012 (October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012). There were no surprises on the list, and it was consistent with years past with only a slight shuffling in the order.

OSHA posts on its website the list of top 10 violations (it has not updated the site with the FY 2012 list yet) in order to "alert employers about these commonly cited standards so they can take steps to find and fix recognized hazards addressed in these and other standards before OSHA shows up. Far too many preventable injuries and illnesses ...

By Elizabeth Bradley

With Election Day tomorrow, employers must be prepared to respond to employees’ request for time off to vote.  While there are no federal laws that require such leave, many states require that employees be provided with leave to vote.  Some states, such as California, Maryland and New York, require this leave to be paid.  Failing to comply with these requirements could result in financial penalties. 

As illustrated below, state requirements vary greatly with regard to whether the leave must be paid, when employees are eligible for the leave, the length of the ...

By Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen

Agreeing with the recent federal district court opinion in our case Alonzo v. MAXIMUS, Inc., 832 F.Supp.2d 1122, 1126 (2011), the California Court of Appeals has confirmed in a case against See’s Candy that California employers may round employees’ time entries so long as the employer’s rounding policy does not consistently result in a failure to pay employees for time worked.

In Alonzo, a federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of our client MAXIMUS, Inc. on the plaintiffs’ time rounding claims. The Alonzo Court explained that ...

Kara M. Maciel, contributor to this blog and Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green, has released the "HR Guide for Responding to Natural Disasters."  Following is an excerpt:

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes have posed unique human resource challenges for employers. While many employers are working around the clock on recovery efforts, other employers find themselves unable to function for extended periods of time because of damage or loss of utilities.

The economic effects of a natural disaster will have long-term consequences on businesses ...

By Eric J. Conn, Head of the OSHA Practice Group

Back in September, we posted an article critiquing OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”) in general, and the newly announced “exit criteria” in particular.  Since that time, in the beginning of October, OSHA updated its embarrassing SVEP Log that it maintains for public consumption on the OSHA website.  With the new data included on the SVEP Log, we thought this would be a good time to provide an update about the SVEP, including:

• The types of employers and industries that OSHA is most frequently qualifying for the ...

By: Kara Maciel

Hurricane Sandy is approaching this weekend, so hospitality employers along the East Coast should refresh themselves on the wage and hour issues arising from the possibility of missed work days in the wake of the storm.

A few brief points that all employers should be mindful of under the FLSA:

• A non-exempt employee generally does not have to be paid for weather-related absences. An employer may allow (or require) non-exempt employees to use vacation or personal leave days for such absences. But, if the employer has a collective bargaining agreement or handbook ...

Back in March of this year, we answered five frequently asked questions related to OSHA inspections.  We received positive feedback from that post along with several requests to address new OSHA-related questions.  Accordingly, we started a new, monthly OSHA FAQ series last month, with the first FAQ post addressing potential triggers for OSHA inspections.

In this post, the second in the regular OSHA FAQ series, we focus on two common defenses to OSHA citations – “Lack of Employer Knowledge” and “Unpreventable Employee Misconduct,” and again, we have provided both a text ...