The Internal Revenue Service announced special relief intended to support leave-based donation programs to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy. Read more

Workplace rules that prohibited off-duty employee access to interior areas of a hotel employer or to hotel property without managerial approval, and employee use of various guest and resident owner facilities without managerial approval was deemed to be unlawful by the National Labor Relations Board in a 2-1 decision. Read more

An employee who was blamed for a racial slur entered on a receipt she gave to a customer, terminated, and subsequently was the subject of a public statement made by the company on the matter, can move her case forward for defamation, the Eighth Circuit decides, reversing a lower court’s dismissal. Read more

A brochure listing help resources has been produced by the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which will be useful in the event an employee becomes a victim of domestic or sexual violence.

A group of non-union technicians who decided to make a public complaint on television about a new pay system that was imposed upon them, and who were subsequently terminated “at-will” were illegally terminated, the National Labor Relations Board decides. Read more

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the U.S. Dept. of Transportation proposes to restrict the use of hand-held mobile telephones, including hand-held cell phones, by drivers of commercial motor vehicles while operating in interstate commerce. Read more

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will significantly modify the roles and responsibilities of companies, boards of directors, and shareholders, and require companies to re-examine and refine their corporate governance practices, The Conference Board says. Read more

The Dept. of Defense has issued an interim rule restricting the use of mandatory arbitration agreements when using DOD funds for contracts that exceed $1 million. Read more

Private companies can now enroll in the Social Security Administration’s Consent-Based Social Security Number Verification Service to obtain instant, automated SSN verification and handle large volume requests for a fee. Read more

Topping the list of things to do in 2010 to minimize the risk of employment-related litigation is preparing your organization for a possible H1N2 pandemic, according to Pepper Law attorney Susan Lessack.
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Individuals and businesses making holiday contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years, the Internal Revenue Service says.
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Employment-at-will clauses in two employee handbooks are lawful under the National Labor Relations Act, according to two memos recently issued by National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon. Read more

The U.S. Small Business Administration has a webpage containing tips for employers on preparing for a hurricane or other disasters, including a hurricane preparedness checklist, and developing a crisis communication plan. Read more

An employer’s dress code limiting employees to wearing only one pro-union button on their work clothes was not improper, the Second Circuit says, remanding a National Labor Relations Board order that a Starbucks policy prohibiting employees from wearing more than one pro-union button on work clothes was an unfair labor practice. Read more

A White Paper offered by Buck Consultants provides recommendations on keeping the workforce healthy during the flu season and planning for business operations. Read more