A reminder to all employers with operations in Arkansas: The minimum wage in Arkansas will increase to $8.00 per hour effective January 1, 2016. Employers should ensure their payroll coordinators or payroll service providers are taking appropriate, timely steps to comply with the change.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), through its Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), recently issued a Technical Assistance Letter in response to a written request by a subcontractor as to whether a general contractor is permitted to require the subcontractor’s employees to present original I-9 documentation, provided to the subcontractor during the I-9 verification process, before commencing work on the project.
In an unexpected surprising broadening of employee rights under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held, on June 27, 2016, that an employee who is discharged for refusing to obey an employer’s directive that violates the act can sue for “damages normally associated with a wrongful-discharge cause of action” and not merely lost wages.
While much of the national news focuses on the problem of illegal immigration and employment verification/I-9 enforcement, employers that make use of legal employment visa categories face continuing and new risks in attempting to comply with the requirements of these visa programs. The H-1B classification allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign professionals in a
