Human Resources

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Sexual Orientation Cases

From OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward: “This week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of gay and transgender status.

“The Court will consider this issue in the context of three cases: Two involve claims that employees were fired because of their sexual orientation. In the third case, the plaintiff claims she was fired because she was transgender and preparing to live openly as a woman. The Court will hear the cases during the nine-month term that begins this October.”

More about this from Frantz Ward here. 4/29/2019

RALI Promotes Drug Take-Back Day

The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) — an OMA-supported alliance of local, state and national organizations committed to finding solutions to Ohio’s opioid crisis — is taking an active role in National Drug Take-Back day, set for tomorrow (Saturday), April 27. Click here to find a take-back location near you. 4/24/2019

What’s the Story on CBD Oil? Legal or Not?

We are hearing a lot these days about cannabidiol (CBD) oil, a substance derived from the hemp or cannabis plant and being sold as a form of medication. Is it legal in Ohio? Here’s a short video from OMA Connections Partner Working Partners® with information of interest to businesses operating drug-free programs. Contact Working Partners® with drug-free program questions. 4/25/2019

EEOC to Delay Reporting on Pay by Race, Gender

OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward has provided an update on Employer Information Report EEO-1. Last month, a federal court ordered the immediate reinstatement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) pay data collection provisions, which would require covered employers to report compensation information by race, ethnicity, and gender in their EEO-1 report. The Trump Administration had suspended these Obama-era provisions in 2017.

According to Frantz Ward’s analysis, the EEOC is not equipped to begin pay data collection. As a result, the commission intends to delay the data collection until Sept. 30, 2019, at the earliest. It is possible the court’s March ruling could be appealed.

The firm advises employers to submit the Component 1 EEO-1 report data as required by May 31, 2019. At the present time, it is not clear when Component 2 pay data will need to be submitted, but employers should be prepared to submit the data at a later date. We will continue to monitor this developing situation. 4/15/2019

Drug-Abuse Educational Trailer to Tour Ohio

The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative of Ohio (RALI OH) will bring the RALI CARES educational trailer to a number of cities across Ohio, including Columbus, Marysville, Circleville, New Lexington, Zanesville, Ashland, Medina, Canton, Northfield, Toledo and Dayton.

Set up as a mock teenage bedroom, the trailer exhibit educates families about the possible warning signs of substance abuse. It is a part of RALI OH’s ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. More here. 4/10/2019

Ohio 46th in Health Value

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s “Health Value Dashboard” is a tool to track Ohio’s progress towards health value, a composite measure of Ohio’s performance on population health outcomes and health care spending.

The dashboard examines Ohio’s rank and trend performance relative to other states and highlights gaps in outcomes between groups for some of Ohio’s most at-risk populations.

Ohio ranks 46^th among the states and the District of Columbia in the index. Ohio has high rates of addiction and tobacco use, problems with access to care in major areas of the state, and insufficient spending on prevention, says the report. 4/3/2019

DOL’s Proposed Rule Updates the Meaning of “Regular Rate” for the Modern Workplace

From OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward: “(On March 28), the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a proposed rule to update regular rate calculations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Under the FLSA, employers must pay overtime pay to employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. The overtime pay rate is one and a half times an employee’s “regular rate” of pay. However, as many employers know, calculating an employee’s regular rate is not as straightforward as it may seem.”

Read more from Frantz Ward about what the DOL proposes. 3/29/2019

DOL Announces Proposed Joint Employer Rule

From OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore: “On April 1, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its existing regulations, … , regarding whether a business qualifies as a joint employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires covered employers to pay nonexempt employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime for all hours worked more than 40 in one workweek. The proposed rule would clarify when additional businesses are jointly and severally liable with the employer for the employee’s wages under the FLSA.”

Read more about the proposed rulemaking here. 4/3/2019

FMLA Designation is Not Discretionary for Employer or Employee

From OMA Connections Partner Clark Schaefer Hackett: “The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new Opinion Letter on March 14, 2019 clarifying that an employer cannot delay the designation of FMLA-qualifying leave as FMLA leave. The question initially posed to the DOL was whether an employer may permit employees to use or exhaust some or all available paid time off (vacation, sick or other leave) prior to designating leave as FMLA-qualifying, even when the leave is clearly FMLA-qualifying.”

Read more about this from Clark Schaefer Hackett. 3/25/2019

Medical Marijuana Up & Running in Ohio – Sign up for Employer Webinars

From OMA Connections Partner, Working Partners^(R): “Last week the Ohio Marijuana Control Board granted three more medical marijuana dispensaries certificates of operation. This means Ohio now has 12 of the 56 dispensaries up and running. In light of things ramping up, we are once again holding our popular Yes. No. Maybe? Medical Marijuana & Your Drug-Free Workplace Program webinars.

“Two dates are scheduled, April 11 and May 9.

“These webinars have been well received and attendees have reported having their eyes opened to everything they hadn’t considered regarding an employee’s use of medical marijuana and how their business could be impacted.”

Learn more and register here. 3/28/2019