News from Ollis/Akers/Arney Human Resources Consulting

Wage and Hour Case Studies

Exploring DOL Violation Trends

The case studies in this article explore the most recent, real-world examples of employers found to be in violation of wage and hour rules. Such case studies include snapshots of violations and general guidance on how employers can prevent similar issues. By examining these case studies, employers can learn from the mistakes of others in comparable industries and avoid DOL violations.

Examples include:

Child labor violations found among four well-known fast food restaurants
A delivery company that failed to pay its drivers overtime wages
Health care employers who failed to pay overtime wages to over 300 workers
A waste management company that fired an employee who was on qualified medical leave

Read the Case Studies here

DOL Issues Guidance on

Unlawful Retaliation for Employee Leave

On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage & Hour Division issued a Field Assistance Bulletin on protecting workers from retaliation. The DOL provides examples of prohibited retaliation under:

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and
Executive Order (EO) 13706, “Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors,"

among other federal laws and orders enforced by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The Department of Labor examples of unlawful retaliation also describe penalties that could result in these instances.

More details can be found here

Making Learning &

Development Enticing

A quality L&D program promotes a growth mindset and an independent pursuit for knowledge. In other words, these programs can allow employers to cultivate an environment that helps support employees on their learning journeys. Employees can feel unchallenged or unmotivated if these are not available to them.

L&D efforts have the ability to be a powerful attraction and retention tool for organizations, but also offer other benefits. These efforts can positively impact workplaces by:

Closing worker skill gaps
Keeping up with workplace demands
Increasing employee innovation and creativity
Boosting employee productivity

While L&D programs have been shown to benefit organizations and their workers, they can only do so when implemented effectively. Read more...

Get Your Copy of the Management and Leadership Development Curriculum

Attraction & Retention Trends

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, employers are seeing encouraging workplace trends emerge. During the first two months of the year, there was steady job growth, with unemployment decreasing nearly to pre-pandemic levels; 3.8% in 2022 compared to 3.5% in 2020. While the marketplace still has a way to go, these gains indicate a positive trajectory for employers overall.

To solidify their upward momentum as they continue to attract talent, employers need to appeal to their current and potential workforces. Generally, employers efforts boil down to doing what they can to provide workers with the fulfillment they're looking for from their careers. This mindset is important to maintain as workers continue to consider their job prospects amid the "Great Resignation" - the current, unprecedented wave of voluntary resignations across the United States.

This article talks about some workplace trends some employers are using,

Read More Here

Congress Adopts New Cybersecurity

Reporting Requirements

On March 1, 2022, Congress passed the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (the Act), which requires covered entities to report certain cyber incidents. The Act requires covered entities that experience a covered cyber incident to report the incident to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) no later than 72 hours after the covered entity reasonably believes that the covered cyber incident has occurred.

These requirements are meant to provide greater cybersecurity visibility for the federal government. The requirements will go into effect once the rule is published in the Federal Register, after going through the formal rulemaking process.

Read the overview here

Our 2 Most Popular Training Sessions

Navigating the HR Jungle: HR Current Legal Issues

Thursday - April 7, 2022

This course is designed to enhance the knowledge of managers in basic HR regulations and best practices. It will also develop skills related to preventing sexual harassment, coaching and counseling, progressive disciplinary action, performance management and involuntary terminations.

Targeted Selection Behavioral-Based Interviewing

Thursday/Friday - April 14 & 15, 2022

Specific interviewing techniques, particularly behavior-based interviewing, have been found to have a substantial impact on the results of hiring. Interviewing for motivational fit, related to organizational culture and core values, further increases the likelihood of successfully aligning talent to the needs of your organization.

Check out our Event Page

Welcome Kenya Pearman!

Human Resources Consultant

We are so pleased to welcome Kenya Pearman to our Human Resources Consulting team! Kenya has over 16 years of Human Resources Director experience including recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, training and development, benefit administration, legal compliance and has developed employee recognition programs in the supply chain/logistics industry.

Kenya has a BS in Political Science from Oklahoma State University and is actively involved in the Springfield Human Resources Association and the Society for Human Resource Management. Kenya holds the esteemed Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation and is a Senior Certified Professional through SHRM.

Learn more about Kenya here