Richard Alaniz

 It’s hard to believe, but the year is closing and the holidays are approaching, which, in addition to closing the books and a few final deals, for many company means planning the annual holiday party.

Disability claims are always challenging for employers, but this is especially the case when pregnant workers suffer complications that leave them unable to perform their normal job duties. 

Any employer who has faced potential class-action wage-and-hour lawsuits knows what a headache they can be. 

 Along with underfunded corporate and public pensions, many union pensions are massively in the red. For employers who have union workers who participate in these types of multi-employer pension plans, the growing liability involved with withdrawing from pension funds presents a serious issue.  

 In prosecution of wage and hour violations, the stakes are getting personal.  

Religion in the workplace can present a difficult balancing act for employers.  

 Boeing Co. is trying to expand production and add manufacturing capacity, something most other companies can only dream about doing in this economy.  

 Union membership in the private sector stands today at a mere 6.9 percent, down drastically from its high of 35 percent during the mid-1950s.  

Providing hourly employees with unpaid meal breaks may seem like a straightforward thing to do, and it is done in thousands of workplaces on a daily basis.

The job requirements have appeared all around the country. One ad, placed by a Texas electronics company looking for an engineer, stated that the company would not “consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason.”