Labor Symposium Scheduled for September

Shughart Thomson & Kilroy is hosting the 2006 Labor, Employment and Benefits Symposium this month to focus on developments in labor employment and benefits law. Victoria A. Lipnic, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment Standards, will updat attendees on developments concerning wage and hour matters and amendments to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

She said it's important for small businesses to pay closer attention to the updated overtime rules that went into affect in August 2004. She said violations of overtime laws have been growing, and litigation in employment law generally has been increasing. She cautioned employers to make sure they're paying their people correctly.

"The important issue is whether you have employees who are exempt, which in this case means exempt from overtime not have to pay overtime, vs. your employees who are classified as non-exempt, which means you do have to pay overtime," Lipnic said.

There have been changes within the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), as well. Employers contracting more than $50,000 with the federal government have affirmative obligations. Part of showing they are in compliance is tracking job applicants. With the advent of the Internet, employers raised concerns about tracking the greater numbers of online applications they received. They wanted to know who qualified as an applicant.

The OFCCP finalized the new rule early this year that established whose records employers have to track. The rule is based on manageable, minimum qualifications. If only 1,000 of the 10,000 applicants fit the minimum job requirement-say a four-year engineering degree-then employers are only required to track those 1,000 records instead of all 10,000 online applicants.

 "If we expect people to follow the law, then we need to tell them in a clear, transparent fashion what the law is," Lipnic said.

The Shughart Thomson & Kilroy 2006 Labor, Employment and Benefits Symposium is Thursday, Sept. 21 from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Westin Crown Center Hotel. Visit www.stklaw.com for more information.