The new Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination provides guidance and instructions for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations and analysis of charges alleging discrimination based on religion. The information in its previous compliance manual on religious discrimination is rendered obsolete.

The 97-page manual covers the definition of what is a “religion,” including “sincerely held” beliefs, and employer inquiries into “religious nature or sincerity of belief” if a religious accommodation is requested. The EEOC has also issued a companion “best practices” guide for employers outlining policies that help in reducing or eliminating religious discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

The Dept. of Homeland Security and the Dept. of Justice have issued final rules increasing the civil monetary penalties for employers who violate federal immigration law in hiring, recruiting, referring or employing workers; and for paperwork violations. The penalties are being increased to account for inflation, and depending on the violation, will increase from $100 to $5,000 per violation. The penalties become effective on March 27.

The proposed $50.4 billion budget for the U.S. Dept of Labor contains a $16.7 million increase in funding for wage and hour enforcement, including 36 new investigators. The DOL budget request also increases the funding for federal and state safety and health inspections by $17.9 million. Promising “vigorous enforcement and compliance assistance,” OSHA says that it will focus on high-hazard industries typically employing large numbers of non-English speaking workers. U.S. Department of Labor Fiscal Year 2008 Budget

In FY 2007, the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division collected more than $220 million in back wages from employers, $180 million of which were for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act; DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs collected almost $52 million for workers subjected to unlawful employment discrimination; and DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards obtained $32 million in court-ordered union fund restitutions for workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also reported record enforcement in FY 2007.