Colchester, VT – HRSentry, a leading provider of online services for human resource regulatory compliance, has partnered with LegalZoom, the nation’s leading online legal document service, to form a strategic partnership. This partnership will give LegalZoom users access to HR Made Simple, HRSentry’s online human resource center, as part of the LegalZoom Business Resource Network. The partnership provides LegalZoom customers with access to federal and state employment laws, and human resources forms, policies, procedures, posters and training.
LegalZoom provides a simple, cost-effective way for people to establish a new legal business entity. HRSentry’s services are offered as part of The Business Resource Network, a group of carefully selected business service partners that LegalZoom has chosen to recommend to its customers.
“We couldn’t be more excited about offering HRSentry to our new and existing business owners,” says Steven Chic, Director of Business Development for LegalZoom. “HRSentry’s one-stop shop for HR compliance let’s our customers focus on their business – leaving human resource compliance issues to the pros.
“Being selected as a partner on LegalZoom Business Resource Network has been an incredible experience,” said Dean Haller, founder and President of HRSentry. “This partnership is a natural fit and will give thousands of small businesses the support they need to save time and avoid costly lawsuits.”
About HRSentry
Since being founded in 2003, HRSentry’s mission has been to create, deliver, and support services and training that empower the organization to be self-sufficient in administration of its Human Resource policies, practices, and procedures. HRSentry’s services enable the user to access Human Resource forms, policies, and procedures; link to federal and state laws, regulations, and resources and expand their knowledge of HR through state-of-the-art training mediums. For more information visit www.hrsentry.com.
About LegalZoom
LegalZoom.com is the nation’s leading provider of legal documents that help people protect their families and launch their business dreams. Since its founding in 2001, more than 1 million customers have used the service to make a will or living trust, form a corporation or LLC, and apply for a copyright or trademark. LegalZoom is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Headquartered in Glendale, California, with offices in Austin, Texas, the company has over 400 employees. For more information, visit www.legalzoom.com.
For more information contact:
Topher Liddle, HRSentry, 1-800-523-2564, topher@hrsentry.com
The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) has been with us for a couple of years but the final interpretation of the expanded coverage under the Amendments Act is just recently in. The ADA precludes discrimination in hiring and employment decisions. So what does the final interpretation mean for you as an employer?
The main thing is that a lot more people than ever before will qualify for protection under the Act. This makes it vital to consider possible ADA-related effects before taking any employment action. Coverage now includes an array of impairments including those that are episodic such as cancer or diabetes. Also included are mental illnesses and learning disabilities. As diagnoses of some of these conditions increase, the number of applicants and staff you encounter who are protected by the Act will likewise continue to grow.
There are three categories of covered individuals:
1. Someone who is disabled
2. Someone who has a record of being disabled
3. Someone who is regarded as being disabled.
An individual who falls under one of the first two categories may request “reasonable accommodation” and you should comply if the situation warrants and the accommodation does not create an “undue hardship” for your organization. Remember, however, that the person must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with such accommodation. You are under no obligation to employ someone who can’t do the job. Perform a thorough analysis and make sure all job descriptions are complete and accurate.
Be mindful that an individual who claims to fall under the “regarded as” category may also bring a claim of discrimination. Therefore, every employment action should be viewed in light of the ADA. Make ADA training mandatory for every supervisor and manager in your organization. Be sure they understand that more employees and applicants than ever before will be covered and that an ADA lens needs to be used to view employment situations and actions.
It looks as though the Supreme Court justices are unconvinced that the largest discrimination case in history, brought by several women against Wal-Mart, should have been certified as a class action suit by a lower court. That certification by the 9th Circuit court includes every woman employed for any period of time during the past decade at any of Wal-Mart’s 3400 stores. The upshot thus far seems to be that the argument that the claims are not similar enough to be typical is prevailing and that the cases should have instead been brought in separate trials. Law professor, Kent Greenfield, writes in the Huffington Post as to what the justices, Kennedy in particular, may be missing about the power of corporate culture. For more information click here to visit the Huffington Post web site.
Whatever the outcome, Wal-mart won’t be the last organization fending off allegations of a pervasive culture of discrimination. Six women filed suit on March 21 against Bayer Corporation citing discrimination based on gender, taking leave protected by federal and state laws, as well as pregnancy status and that of primary-caregiving mothers. The six claim to represent hundreds of other women and their allegations, if true, seem overtly egregious. For more details on the Bayer case, see the Society for Human Resources online news article by clicking here.
Of course the best way to avoid getting into a similar situation is to train, train, train your managers on these and all your policies and practices: sexual harassment and other harassment awareness, proper interviewing, FMLA, and all of your non-discrimination policies and practices. As with all important communications, the message and culture of non-discrimination comes from the top so top executive support and messaging are key. For more information or help addressing these issues, HRSentry.com provides up-to-date links to laws and legal information, best practice information, sample policies and kits.
The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released a new fact sheet on break time in the workplace for nursing mothers under the FLSA. The fact sheet provides general information on the break time requirements for nursing mothers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). These new requirements took effect when the PPACA was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The new FLSA requirement of break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk does not preempt State laws that provide greater protections to employees.
The new fact sheet provides general requirements for employers. Employers are now required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” In addition to this, employers are required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from a view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”
The new fact sheet also details the time and location of breaks for nursing mothers to express breast milk. The fact sheet states that “…employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of break time to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother. The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary.” Since there is no set time for the length of breaks, or how often an employee may take these breaks, it is important to try and be flexible and accommodating and allow the employee to take breaks as needed.
The location that the company or organization provides for the nursing mother to express breast milk must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk, and may not be a bathroom even if it is a private bathroom. However, the space the company or organization provides for the nursing mother does not have to function solely as a space for expressing breast milk, but it must be available when it is needed in order to meet the statutory requirements.
Employers are not required under the FLSA to provide breaks to nursing mothers who are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of Section 7, but businesses should be aware that they may be obligated to provide such breaks under State laws. In addition to this, employers with fewer than fifty employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship.
HR Made Simple Users should log in to view additional resources, or for more information visit:
Many small businesses rely heavily on part-time workers, but now having one too many part-time workers could make some small businesses subject to large penalties. The healthcare reform law states that “employers have to offer affordable health insurance to full-time workers or pay a penalty of up to $3,000 per worker, starting in 2014.” Businesses with fifty or fewer workers are exempt from the penalties.
A company’s worker total is determined by combining both full-time and full-time equivalent workers (FTEs), and this is where it starts to get tricky for small businesses. Every 120 part-time hours worked per month equals one Full Time Equivalent worker, no matter how many employees work those 120 hours. For example, if your business has ten part-time employees that work a total of 480 hours in one month, that is equal to four FTE workers. If your business has at least 46 full-time workers, and then have to add the four extra FTE workers to that, your business now has a total of fifty full-time workers. Which means your business would have to offer health insurance to workers or risk facing the $3,000 per full-time worker penalty.
This means that small businesses, such as retail stores and restaurants, who tend to have a high number of part-time workers need to keep close track of the number of hours being worked by part-time employees. For more information read this article. HR Made Simple Users can log in to access additional materials.
