What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

No Flu Shot? That's a Firing

To contact us Click HERE
Did you hear the latest story about 150 people fired for not getting a flu shot? That's right. An employer fired 150 healthcare workers the day before Thanksgiving (doesn't this story keep getting better?) because they mandated each and every employee get a flu shot and these 150 folks didn't do it.

I can't think of anything much more intrusive than requiring an employee to insert something unwillingly into their bloodstream, but there is a growing trend in the healthcare industry to do just that.

Sue the bastards, you say? Hmm. I'm not so sure they would win. In general, requiring vaccines of health care workers is legal, and in some states it is required. Some legal ways employees might get out of having the vaccine:

Collective bargaining agreements: vaccinations are definitely considered a “term or condition of employment” that must be bargained for if the workplace is unionized. Employers can commit an unfair labor practice if they impose them unilaterally in a unionized workplace.

Religious accommodations: protections against religious discrimination include any sincerely held religious or spiritual belief. EEOC recently issued an informal discussion letter on this topic. They offer this advice on whether a practice or belief is “religious” such that it is covered by discrimination laws: “Therefore, whether a practice is religious depends on the employee's motivation. The same practice might be engaged in by one person for religious reasons and by another person for purely secular reasons (e.g., dietary restrictions, tattoos, etc.). Applying these principles, absent undue hardship, religious accommodation could apply to an applicant or employee with a sincerely held religious belief against vaccination who sought to be excused from the requirement as an accommodation. At the same time, it is unlikely that "religious" beliefs would be held to incorporate secular philosophical opposition to vaccination.”

Disability accommodations: EEOC says that mandatory vaccinations must still accommodate disabilities. They’ve issued a fact sheet on pandemic preparation. Their fact sheet includes this information:

13. May an employer covered by the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 compel all of its employees to take the influenza vaccine regardless of their medical conditions or their religious beliefs during a pandemic?

No. An employee may be entitled to an exemption from a mandatory vaccination requirement based on an ADA disability that prevents him from taking the influenza vaccine. This would be a reasonable accommodation barring undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense). Similarly, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, once an employer receives notice that an employee’s sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance prevents him from taking the influenza vaccine, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless it would pose an undue hardship as defined by Title VII (“more than de minimis cost” to the operation of the employer’s business, which is a lower standard than under the ADA).(36)

Generally, ADA-covered employers should consider simply encouraging employees to get the influenza vaccine rather than requiring them to take it.

Pregnancy: If vaccinations are contra-indicated due to pregnancy, then the employer must accommodate the pregnancy the same as they would any other medical condition. In the informal discussion letter I mention above, EEOC says this about pregnancy: “In the scenario you pose, a pregnant employee might allege disparate treatment under the PDA and/or Title VII if an employer refused to excuse the pregnant employee from a vaccination requirement but permitted non-pregnant or male employees to be excused from the requirement on other grounds, such as having a medical condition that was a contra-indicator for the vaccination.”

Lots of people think this kind of intrusion is outrageous. I'm not sure where those folks were when their states passed laws mandating vaccines.

So what do you think? Should a private employer be allowed to require employees to have vaccinations? If so, what's next? Can they do a cavity search for drugs and office supplies? Require you to have a vasectomy? Where does it end? When does Congress step in? My guess is that employer intrusions will only get worse for employees, and that Congress will do nothing about it for years to come.

EMPLOYERS PAY THE FUTA PRICE OF THEIR STATE'S LACK OF FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

To contact us Click HERE

Employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) at a rate of 6.0% on the first $7,000 of covered wages paid to each employee each year. However, employers can offset this tax with credits of up to 5.4% (the “normal credit”)  for amounts paid to a state unemployment fund by January 31 of the subsequent year. Thus, the net FUTA rate for many employers is only 0.6%.

Under federal law, states with financial difficulties can borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. However, if a state defaults on its repayment of the loan for at least 2 years, the normal credit available is reduced. This effectively increases the employer's FUTA tax rate by 0.3% for each year in which the loan isn't repaid. Are there states out there that have defaulted on repayment? Of course.

Is your state on the default list? Here is the list and how much it is costing their employers:

--0.9% credit reduction - Indiana.

--0.6% credit reduction - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

--0.3% credit reduction - Arizona, Delaware, and Vermont.

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

EMPLOYERS PAY THE FUTA PRICE OF THEIR STATE'S LACK OF FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

To contact us Click HERE

Employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) at a rate of 6.0% on the first $7,000 of covered wages paid to each employee each year. However, employers can offset this tax with credits of up to 5.4% (the “normal credit”)  for amounts paid to a state unemployment fund by January 31 of the subsequent year. Thus, the net FUTA rate for many employers is only 0.6%.

Under federal law, states with financial difficulties can borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. However, if a state defaults on its repayment of the loan for at least 2 years, the normal credit available is reduced. This effectively increases the employer's FUTA tax rate by 0.3% for each year in which the loan isn't repaid. Are there states out there that have defaulted on repayment? Of course.

Is your state on the default list? Here is the list and how much it is costing their employers:

--0.9% credit reduction - Indiana.

--0.6% credit reduction - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

--0.3% credit reduction - Arizona, Delaware, and Vermont.

EMPLOYERS PAY THE FUTA PRICE OF THEIR STATE'S LACK OF FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

To contact us Click HERE

Employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) at a rate of 6.0% on the first $7,000 of covered wages paid to each employee each year. However, employers can offset this tax with credits of up to 5.4% (the “normal credit”)  for amounts paid to a state unemployment fund by January 31 of the subsequent year. Thus, the net FUTA rate for many employers is only 0.6%.

Under federal law, states with financial difficulties can borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. However, if a state defaults on its repayment of the loan for at least 2 years, the normal credit available is reduced. This effectively increases the employer's FUTA tax rate by 0.3% for each year in which the loan isn't repaid. Are there states out there that have defaulted on repayment? Of course.

Is your state on the default list? Here is the list and how much it is costing their employers:

--0.9% credit reduction - Indiana.

--0.6% credit reduction - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

--0.3% credit reduction - Arizona, Delaware, and Vermont.

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

ABA Blawg 100

To contact us Click HERE
I'm excited and honored to say that this blog was named one of the ABA Blawg 100. Editors of the ABA Journal announced today they have selected Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home as one of the top 100 best blogs for a legal audience.

They chose six Labor and Employment blogs to be part of their top 100.

Now that the editors have made their picks, the ABA Journal is asking readers to weigh in and vote on their favorites in each of the 6th Annual Blawg 100's 15 categories. Go to http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100 to register and vote. Voting ends at close of business on Dec. 21, 2012. I'd sure appreciate your vote if you're a fan of my blog.

Here's what ABA said about the Blawg 100 selection:

"Each year, our choices become tougher. Blogging has become such a staple of
professional communication that keeping up with our own directory of more than 3,500
blogs by lawyers, judges, law professors or even law students is more formidable than
it's ever been," said ABA Journal Editor and Publisher Allen Pusey. "Some of them
have become such permanent, even required, fixtures in our everyday reading that we're introducing the ABA Journal Blawg 100 Hall of Fame to recognize those blogs and
bloggers that have set the standards for this vast, vibrant network for legal news and commentary."

Here's what the ABA Journal says about the five other blogs in the Labor and Employment category, all of which are on my must-read list:

Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Hartford lawyer Dan Schwartz covers the latest developments in Connecticut law as it relates to employers and distinguishes the significant rulings issued by the National Labor Relations Board from the run-of-the-mill ones. And when Schwartz’s firm sponsors free employment law seminars, he will blog the highlights.

Twitter: @danielschwartz


Ohio Employer's Law Blog

Jon Hyman wrote The Employer Bill of Rights (scheduled to come out Nov. 21). The Cleveland lawyer posts every weekday on decisions in Ohio and federal courts related to employees’ and employers’ use of social media, noncompete agreements, and the criteria employers can legally use in hiring and firing decisions. Posts often include pointed advice to employers as well as Hyman’s own takes on the opinions and legislation he covers.

Twitter: @jonhyman


The Delaware Employment Law Blog

“Molly [DiBianca] always has a practical and real-world take on the technology issues facing employers—social media, mobile and otherwise. She is not doom and gloom, and offers employers legal info they need to know to make tech work for their employees.” —Jon Hyman of Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, a partner with the Cleveland firm of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz

Twitter: @MollyDiBi


FMLA Insights

Is time spent filling your prescription at Walgreens covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act? Is leave beyond FMLA an “undue hardship” under the Americans with Disabilities Act? For employers with FMLA concerns, this blog is the place to go. Blogger Jeff Nowak of Chicago’s Franczek Radelet provides nuanced commentary on typical and not-so-typical employment conundrums.

Twitter: @FMLAInsights


Lawffice Space

“Phil Miles has a very entertaining employment law blog, where you can get answers to such burning questions as: Why are lawyers so smart and ridiculously good-looking? And whether calling an employee a jackass is worse than calling him a moron. Even though his posts are frequently funny or odd (in a good way), he also has excellent ‘mainstream’ information as well.” —Robin Shea, author of Employment & Labor Insider and a partner at Constangy, Brooks & Smith in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Twitter: @PhilipMiles


I'm honored to be in such great company! And here's what they said about my own little blog:


Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home

“Too many employees think they know their rights, but don’t,” blogger Donna Ballman writes. It’s the thesis behind her recently released book Stand Up for Yourself Without Getting Fired, and a situation she tries to remedy with her blog. Ballman, who practices out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., picks apart severance agreements, whistleblower provisions and noncompete clauses, revealing what employees should know about the contracts they sign—and what the company’s attorney was probably thinking when he or she inserted the language.

Twitter: @EmployeeAtty

CLAIMS BASED ON TESTAMENTARY INTENT ARE NOT DEDUCTIBLE UNDER SECTION 2053 FOR ESTATE TAX PURPOSES

To contact us Click HERE

Code 2053(a)(3) allows an estate to deduct claims that are paid in calculating estate taxes. Oftentimes, estate litigation involves disputed claims. Are the payment of those claims deductible?

They can be, but not if the payment is attributable to the testator’s testamentary intent. This was illustrated in a recent Tax Court case.

In the case, a caretaker of the decedent was a $100,000 pecuniary beneficiary under the decedent’s first set of trust documents. Under a second set of documents, the caretaker became a testamentary trust beneficiary. When the decedent died, litigation ensued between the caretaker and members of the decedent’s family. The parties settled, and the caretaker was paid $575,000.

The estate treated the first $100,000 as a bequest to the caretaker. They then sought to deduct the remaining payment as a deductible claim under Code §2053(a)(3).

Not so fast, said the Tax Court. A requirement for deductibility is that the claim is based on adequate consideration. The Court found that the caretaker had been fully paid for his lifetime services, and thus there was no consideration given to the deceased for the payment to him – also, no claim for unpaid compensation had been filed. Further, per the caretaker being a named beneficiary in both the first and second trust documents, it was clear that the payment was in settlement and a substitute for the gifts provided in the trust documents. As such, the payments were attributable to the decedent’s testamentary intent, and thus not deductible.

The estate also sought deductibility under Code §2053(a)(3) per the payment being made to “preserve estate assets.” The Tax Court determined that such grounds did not apply when the payment is attributable to testamentary intent.

Estate of Sylvia E. Bates, TC Memo 2012-314

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

To contact us Click HERE
This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.

Can Employers Discriminate Against You Because You're Unemployed? Absolutely

To contact us Click HERE
There's been lots of fuss about a recent article in AOL Jobs, Employer Explains Why He Won't Hire the Unemployed. Outrageous, people cry. That can't be legal!

Yet discrimination against the unemployed is indeed legal. Many companies consider unemployment to be a factor that automatically disqualifies applicants.

But it can't really be happening, can it? Yes. Unemployment discrimination is rampant. Whether unemployed for a few weeks or months or even years, employers think less of the unemployed. Some companies are even posting ads saying that the unemployed need not apply.

While a handful of states (New Jersey, Oregon, DC) have passed laws against unemployment discrimination, it's legal almost everywhere in the United States. Other states have tried to pass laws and failed or been vetoed.

But there ought to be a law!

Yes, there should. And President Obama has proposed the American Jobs Act, which has many provisions that will help put Americans back to work. Included in that law is a prohibition against discriminating against the unemployed.

What do you do in the meantime?

Unemployment is having a disparate impact on older workers and minorities. If you're facing discrimination due to being unemployed and you're over 40, a minority, disabled, pregnant, or in some other category that is disproportionately unemployed, you might want to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC and explain that the company's policy has a disparate impact on people in your category (age, race, national origin, etc.).

Don't forget to tell your member of Congress to support the American Jobs Act if you think this type of discrimination should be illegal. And, of course, don't forget to vote in November. The choice is clear on which candidates support workers, and which support the 1% "job creators." I'll stick with supporting workers any day.

EMPLOYERS PAY THE FUTA PRICE OF THEIR STATE'S LACK OF FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

To contact us Click HERE

Employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) at a rate of 6.0% on the first $7,000 of covered wages paid to each employee each year. However, employers can offset this tax with credits of up to 5.4% (the “normal credit”)  for amounts paid to a state unemployment fund by January 31 of the subsequent year. Thus, the net FUTA rate for many employers is only 0.6%.

Under federal law, states with financial difficulties can borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. However, if a state defaults on its repayment of the loan for at least 2 years, the normal credit available is reduced. This effectively increases the employer's FUTA tax rate by 0.3% for each year in which the loan isn't repaid. Are there states out there that have defaulted on repayment? Of course.

Is your state on the default list? Here is the list and how much it is costing their employers:

--0.9% credit reduction - Indiana.

--0.6% credit reduction - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

--0.3% credit reduction - Arizona, Delaware, and Vermont.

EMPLOYERS PAY THE FUTA PRICE OF THEIR STATE'S LACK OF FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE

To contact us Click HERE

Employers pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) at a rate of 6.0% on the first $7,000 of covered wages paid to each employee each year. However, employers can offset this tax with credits of up to 5.4% (the “normal credit”)  for amounts paid to a state unemployment fund by January 31 of the subsequent year. Thus, the net FUTA rate for many employers is only 0.6%.

Under federal law, states with financial difficulties can borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits. However, if a state defaults on its repayment of the loan for at least 2 years, the normal credit available is reduced. This effectively increases the employer's FUTA tax rate by 0.3% for each year in which the loan isn't repaid. Are there states out there that have defaulted on repayment? Of course.

Is your state on the default list? Here is the list and how much it is costing their employers:

--0.9% credit reduction - Indiana.

--0.6% credit reduction - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

--0.3% credit reduction - Arizona, Delaware, and Vermont.

How Do I Prove I'm Paid Less Than My Male Co-Workers?

To contact us Click HERE
A recent article in Newsweek discussed the continuing pay gap between men and women, and suggested some reasons why women still make less than their male colleagues. Another recent story discussed how female doctors are paid less than male doctors. I'm not going to argue here whether or not the pay gap is real. Instead, I want to discuss that, at least in some workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same work. The Newsweek article contained a disturbing statement: "But in many workplaces, discussing pay is frowned upon; in some, it's a dismissible offense. So, like Ledbetter, women often don't know when they're getting paid less than men." Lilly Ledbetter, the pay discrimination victim who lost her case and inspired a law, found out about how much less she made than her male colleagues when she got an anonymous note.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a note from someone brave enough to tell you that you're a victim of discrimination, how do you go about proving pay discrimination? Here are eight ways you can find out if your male colleagues make more than you for the same work:

To read more, see the rest of my article in AOL Jobs.

What You Don't Know About the Minimum Wage Will Hurt America

To contact us Click HERE
I bet you don't think about the minimum wage very much, unless you're one of the folks trying to live on it. There's a move afoot to raise the minimum wage, and you should support it. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure working Americans make a living wage.

Senator Tom Harkin has proposed the Rebuild America Act, which would, among other provisions, raise the minimum wage. It's about time we revisit the minimum wage. Here are some important facts you should know about the minimum wage:

Way below inflation: If the minimum wage had been raised to keep pace with inflation since it was $1.60/hour in 1966, it would now be $10.55.

Annual income: If you work full time on minimum wage, your annual income is $15,080. Go ahead. Try living on that for a year. Morgan Spurlock tried it for 30 days in his old TV show. If you never saw it, you missed an eye-opener.

Tipped employees: Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $2.13/hour. Tip well!

Affording an apartment: In no state in the U.S., even those with higher minimum wages, can a minimum wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value working only 40 hours/week.

Disproportionately women: 64% of minimum wage workers are women. Compare that to the percentage of women who are CEOs, at 4%. Something is wrong here.

Good for the economy: Minimum wage workers tend to spend their pay increases, mainly because they have to. Increases in the minimum wage are good for the economy.

Majority big corporations: Most minimum wage workers are working for big corporations, who have reported record profit increases. The old canard that it would put mom and pop shops out of business is malarkey. 

More college educated: More college-educated folks make minimum wage than those who never graduated high school. If you think minimum wage workers brought their troubles on themselves by dropping out, you are wrong.

Now that you have the facts, I hope you'll tell your Congressional representatives and Senators that you support raising the minimum wage to something Americans can actually live on.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

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This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.