Employment Law

Tattooed Talent

Admittedly, this blog began before the Miss America Pageant this year. For those of you not up on the latest pageant news, Miss Kansas (Sgt. Theresa Vail) brought the issue of tattoos and peoples’ perceptions of them to the forefront with her own two tattoos highly visible during the competition —believed to be a first for this pageant. It was Miss Kansas who convinced me it was time to publish on the subject.
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New Federal Trucking Regulations

The time has come – the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued new rules and service regulations on truck driver hours, effective July 1, 2013. The point of the rules is to reduce the risk of truck drivers overworking in a week, which the FMCSA believes negatively affects public safety. Trucking and shipping companies, however, believe recent advances in big truck technology and safety make these reductions by the FMCSA unnecessary and costly to the industry. Continue reading “New Federal Trucking Regulations”

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Weather Related Absences and How Employers Can Handle Them Legally

Here in the Gulf Coast it’s unlikely we are going to see snow this year, or any year soon for that matter. However, winter has arrived, and that does mean there will be some cold and rain along with the possibility of ice on the road, dense morning fog, and quite often, street flooding. How do you handle the absences caused by this weather, now or any other time of the year?
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Truckers, Cell Phones, and the Long Highway

As of January 3, 2012, the Department of Transportation adopted a new rule restricting use of hand-held mobile phones and devices by interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers – or truck drivers as we more usually call them. Intrastate hazardous materials drivers are also covered. Specifically, the rule says no reaching for or holding mobile phones, and no pushing more than one button to operate phones while driving a commercial motor vehicle. Continue reading “Truckers, Cell Phones, and the Long Highway”