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Will someone leave the light on for us?

Linda Popky Facilities & Grounds

PG&E, the largest utility in California, recently announced its CEO would be resigning as the company declares bankruptcy. The utility has been beset with liability claims from wildfires started or fed by defective or malfunctioning electrical equipment. PG&E is being held responsible for 17 major fires in 2017, and likely is at fault for at least part of the Camp Fire that killed nearly 90 people in Paradise, California, last fall. The current situation presents a conundrum for California utility regulators and legislators.

Avoid these tricky but common nonexempt traps

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Can't we just make everyone exempt? It would be so much easier! Employers would not have to worry about overtime budgeting or the details of whether their employee is on or off the clock when they make a request. And most employees would happily trade in their time card for a set salary, schedule flexibility and just the ability to be considered exempt. It seems everyone wins. However, the Federal Labor Standards Act is pretty clear on what type of position can be exempted from overtime rules and many of us our pushing those guidelines to their limits. Here are a few common traps and tips for how to avoid — or rectify — them.

Going big: The Sig Sauer SHOT Show experience

Joshua Fry Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

"Wait until you see what we have in store for the SHOT Show, our new machine gun is going to change everything," said Tom Taylor, the chief marketing officer and executive vice president for Sig Sauer, when I last saw him at the Sig Sauer Academy in New Hampshire. In seemingly perfect timing, we could hear the new machine gun rattling off in the distance at the off-limits prototype testing range. Tom politely denied our requests to see it in person and promised us it would be worth the wait when it debuted at the 2019 SHOT Show Sig Sauer Industry Day. It turns out Tom actually undersold and overdelivered the experience waiting for us.

Survey: Federal workers downbeat as second shutdown looms

Seth Sandronsky Civil & Government

Uncertainty reigns among federal workers over their financial health and buying power in the face of a potential second partial government shutdown on Feb. 15, according to a survey from Clever Real Estate. The 35-day closure in December and January over a failed U.S.-Mexico border wall deal has left a lasting scar, survey results show. The eight-day survey, featuring a random sampling of 500 federal employees, indicates much angst as Congress and President Trump careen toward an unclear outcome of negotiations for a border wall, according to Thomas O'Shaughnessy, a research analyst at Clever Real Estate.

Will the military be called on to build a border wall?

Miranda Y. Brumbaugh Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

In another effort to complete the construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, President Trump has turned to the military. More specifically, the president has threatened to declare a national emergency to push forward with construction: "We’re looking at a national emergency because we have a national emergency." In doing so, the U.S. military could be required to both build the wall and fund the project, which has a price estimate of $5.7 billion. Learn the latest news regarding how the military would be affected if the president pursues border wall funding and/or construction from the Pentagon.

K9s For Warriors: Because together we stand

Scott Smith Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

K9s For Warriors is a BBB-accredited charity organization located in Ponte Vedra, Florida, that has been pairing rescue dogs with traumatized soldiers since 2011. The dogs are trained to be service dogs, specifically performing tasks to quiet the symptoms of war trauma disabilities in soldiers. "The skillsets our dogs learn help these warriors with anxiety, isolation, depression, and nightmares," says Shari Duval, the founder of K9s For Warriors. "So, the warriors can function again in public." Specifically, the dogs are trained to deal with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or military sexual trauma (MST), as a result of military service on or after 9/11.

Deforestation in Brazil comes with health consequences

Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & Environmental

Since the election of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro last October, much has been made about the globally relevant deforestation of the Amazon. Newly initiated climate change students are likely to be introduced to the Amazon rainforest because it sequesters carbon dioxide, produces oxygen, and is home to some of the richest biodiversity in the world. For many environmentalists following the catastrophic effects of global deforestation, battles over Amazonian land-use have never been more prominent. You can also add a public health crisis to the list of problems caused by Brazil’s environmental deregulation.

Can you be held personally liable in an employment lawsuit?

D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Case law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), generally holds individuals cannot be found liable. Unfortunately, the clear language in case law supporting the dismissal of individuals has not prevented plaintiffs from bringing claims under these statutes. For example, a federal court judge in Oregon recently outlined this costly and questionable practice in his opinion in a case involving Starbucks.

Supreme Court upholds transgender military ban

Miranda Y. Brumbaugh Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of reversing the current standing policy of allowing transgender people in the military. Now the presidential administration and the Pentagon will be one step further in their mission to prohibit transgender service members in the U.S. armed forces. At this time, there are approximately 900 transgender U.S. service men and women who are active duty in the armed forces and are directly affected by this ruling.

Why are on-the-job deaths of large-truck drivers on the rise?

Terri Williams Transportation Technology & Automotive

The number of large-truck drivers who died in a traffic fatality reached a record level in 2017 — the last year with complete data available. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, large-truck occupant fatalities in multiple-vehicle crashes increased by 28.5 percent from 2016. Large-truck occupant fatalities in single-vehicle crashes increased by 8.7 percent from 2016. This increase is the result of several factors. "Behavior is at the root of most safety failures," according to Brian Fielkow, CEO of Jetco Delivery, a trucking company based in Houston that has been praised for its safety record.

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