New on XpertHR This Week - 5/14/2012

Author: Katanya Royster, XpertHR Legal Editor

XpertHR continues to add a lot of content each week. Read on to see what we added over the past week alone!

Walmart to Pay Back Wages

Earlier this month, the US Department of Labor announced that Walmart would have to pay $5.3 million in back wages and penalties for misclassifying employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

XpertHR not only updated the site with a summary of the Walmart matter, but also added the following to help employers avoid a similar fate:

• How to Respond to a US Department of Labor Audit;
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Executive Exemption;
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Administrative Exemption;
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Learned Professional Exemption;
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Creative Professional Exemption;
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Computer Employee Exemption; and
• How to Determine if an Employee Qualifies for the Outside Sales Exemption

New Guidance on Criminal Records

Also, the EEOC's recent guidance on employers' use of arrest and conviction records, and Massachusetts' criminal offender record information (CORI) reform, have left employers with questions.

XpertHR has answers - the site now has a podcast to help employers understand the impact these developments may have on their business practices.

Those subscribing to Massachusetts content also have access to our new Criminal Offender Record Information Policy to help manage the requirements of this challenging and groundbreaking new law.

Promoting Employee Safety

XpertHR also has new employee safety content. The site now includes a supervisor briefing on promoting safe driving practices among employees.

Also, several additions to XpertHR's Legal Timetable will keep employers on track to comply with new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) deadlines relating to the Globally Harmonized System.

Those deadlines concern updated HazCom requirements and will impact employee training, manufacturer labels, distributor labels and employer hazard communications.

New State-Specific Posters

That's not all. XpertHR has also incorporated a supervisor briefing on corporate restructuring and several new state-specific posters.

XpertHR's Pennsylvania subscribers will have access to ten recently added Pennsylvania posters, including the Pennsylvania Equal Pay Law and Minimum Wage posters.

Rhode Island subscribers will have access to eight new Rhode Island posters, including the Parental and Family Medical Leave Act and Minimum Wage posters.

Next Week

Next week, XpertHR will launch content for 10 more states! The covered states in this phase of the launch are:

1. Alabama;
2. California;
3. Hawaii;
4. Louisiana;
5. Minnesota;
6. Nebraska;
7. North Dakota;
8. Ohio;
9. Pennsylvania; and
10. Wyoming.

We'll continue to keep you posted via these weekly notifications and other bulletins.