Blog

Angel Castillo Jr.

• Florida State Senator Seeks Prohibition on Checking Job Applicants’ Criminal Records
             If it is approved in the next Florida legislative session, a proposed new state law would prohibit private employers from inquiring into, or considering, a job applicant’s criminal history on an initial employment application.               Such screenings would only be allowed after the employer has determined that a job applicant meets the minimum […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE GOES UP IN 2015
            Florida's state minimum wage is going up to $8.05 an hour -- a 12 cent increase --‎ on January 1, 2015. Employers need to pay their employees at least the state minimum, while the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 for the new year. 
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• SUPREME COURT DECIDES THAT END-OF-SHIFT ANTI-THEFT EMPLOYEE SCREENINGS ARE NOT COMPENSATABLE WORK TIME UNDER THE FLSA
              The U.S. Supreme Court has held unanimously that hourly-paid employees don't have to be paid for the time that they spend passing through after-work security screenings, reversing a Ninth Circuit ruling in favor of former employees of an Amazon.com warehouse against a staffing agency.               The Court handed a victory to employers over […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ADDS TRANSGENDER PROTECTIONS NOT ENACTED BY CONGRESS
             Acting unilaterally to expand federal civil rights laws to protect transgenders in the workplace – although Congress has failed to do so – the Obama Administration has announced that it will push forward with its own interpretation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.               Reversing the prior position of the […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• FAVORING UNIONS, NLRB GRANTS EMPLOYEES THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE USING THEIR EMPLOYERS’ EMAIL SYSTEMS DURING NONWORKING TIME
             The National Labor Relations Board has decided, 3-2, that employees have a right to use their employers' e-mail systems for communicating about union organizing during breaks and other nonworking time.               The 76-page decision, which favors labor unions, overruled a seven-year-old board ruling which had found the opposite. In doing so, the Board […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• Miami-Dade County Enacts Ordinance Prohibiting Discrimination Against Transgender People
             Invoking its power to legislate for the public safety, health, and general welfare of the county’s residents, the Miami-Dade County Commission has approved, by an 8-3 vote, an ordinance that bans discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming people.               The commission voted on December 2, 2014, for the measure, which expands the county's […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• EEOC Issues Updated Enforcement Guidance On Pregnancy Discrimination
            The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues, along with a question and answer document about the guidance, and a Fact Sheet for Small Businesses.               They are all available free online at eeoc.gov. (See URLs below).             This is the […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• HOW TO CONDUCT BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR EMPLOYEES AND JOB APPLICANTS AND COMPLY WITH FEDERAL LAWS
            In a joint publication with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a booklet regarding the use by private sector employers of background checks on existing employees and job applicants.           Any time an employer uses a job applicant’s or employee’s background information – including criminal histories -- […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• Half a Million U.S. Employers Now Using E-Verify to Check Job Applicants’ Status
              More than 500,000 employers now use E-Verify in about 1.5-million workplaces, the federal government’s free online service that allows United States employers to confirm their new employees’ eligibility to work in this country.             U.S. law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States – either U.S. citizens […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.
• Miami Chiropractic Office Pays $170,000 To Settle Religious Discrimination Lawsuit
                Dynamic Medical Services, Inc. (DMS), a Miami company owned by Dr.  Dennis Nobbe which provides medical and chiropractic services, has agreed to settle a religious discrimin­ation lawsuit filed against it in the federal district court in Miami by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).             According to the EEOC, DMS had required […]
  Angel Castillo Jr.