The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its guidance on OSHA penalty and debt-collection procedures to minimize the burden on small businesses and increase prompt hazard abatement.

Are there recommended strategies or scripts for re-educating employees with open FMLA intermittent leave cases on their responsibilities, especially around call-in procedures and usage restrictions?

The Trump administration has begun a big push to deport as many individuals without the legal right to work in the United States as possible. The effort includes raiding businesses with a high proportion of workers with Hispanic origins.

The Department of Labor has identified over 60 regulations for elimination, part of President Trump’s executive order “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.”

If an employee’s FMLA certification form is incomplete or vague, you don’t have to accept it; you can deny FMLA leave.

Employees are protected from retaliation for reporting discrimination or complaining about other Title VII violations. That’s true even if the employee doesn’t specifically state what kind of discrimination she’s charging, if she has generally been complaining about it over some time.

The only way for an employer to defend an Equal Pay Act lawsuit is to prove that the jobs aren’t substantially similar—or that the pay difference is attributable to some factor other than sex.

Treating military service as a negative factor in any employment decisions can backfire badly. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act makes that illegal.

• The National Labor Relations Act and the NLRB—it’s not just about unions.
• Why your employees can talk about their paychecks.
• Why your social media policy matters.
• FMLA, PWFA, ADA and all the federal laws you need to know.
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Code, and who is in a protected class.
• Addressing discrimination before it becomes a problem.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and why 40 is the magic age.
• “Code words” that indicate you’re looking for young candidates.
• FLSA—why this 86-year-old law still trips people up.
• Exempt vs. non-exempt status, and when you have to pay overtime.

When the threat of an employee lawsuit looms, most employers are advised to take a tough stance, fight the charges and never admit guilt. But some attorneys now advocate that an often-overlooked option of simply saying “I’m sorry” in certain situations may actually soothe feelings, and even defuse legal action.