Author: jessica

DSLE Manual Quickly Updated to Reflect Brinker

Just days after a California appeals court issued the Brinker Restaurant Corp. ruling on meal and rest periods (see our story on the new case on p. 1), the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) updated its Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual to reflect the new legal interpretations the court provided. It remains to […]

New Law Grants Final Paycheck Relief to Temporary Staffing Industry

The California Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Smith v. Superior Court (L’Oreal) caused a big stir in the temporary staffing industry (see CWHA August 2006 and June 2008). The court held that final wages under California Labor Code Sections 201 and 203 must be paid immediately upon “discharge,” which includes “when an employer releases an […]

Meal and Rest Breaks: Important New Case Gives Employers and Employees New Flexibility; Should Mean Fewer Wage and Hour Class Actions

California employers are cheering a significant new appeals court decision that provides guidance on meal and rest period obligations and gives employers and employees new flexibility. The court ruled that you must only make breaks available—you don’t have to ensure that employees take them. We’ll look at the new case, what it means for the […]

The Family Unfriendly Workplace: Does American Flexibility Trump European Benevolence?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s CEO wonders if this country’s flexibility doesn’t provide a more supportive environment for working parents than do European countries’ vaunted social systems. The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. is far behind the rest of the world when it comes to supporting families and their needs for […]

Customer Tip About Employee Drug Use—What To Do?

 We had a customer call our office and ask us if we did random drug testing of our employees. We said we do not, and he told us that if we did, one of our employees would not pass and went on to describe that employee. We asked if something happened while he was a […]

13 Inexpensive Tips for Encouraging Wellness Program Participation

Today we offer more low-cost tips for encouraging participation in wellness programs, and we’ll introduce a new turn-key wellness program from BLR. Beyond the actual physical activities, most wellness programs need a little incentive to encourage participation and especially to keep people participating after the initial excitement has worn off. Here are some tips from […]

Two Big Age Bias Settlements—and 3 Lawsuit Prevention Tips

Several new age bias settlements have hit the California headlines. Electronics retailer Best Buy will pay $17,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a 68-year-old job applicant who contended he was denied employment because of his age. According to the suit, Reinhold Schouweiler was rejected for a […]

Wellness on a Shoestring—Programs that Any Boss Will Fund

Most everyone in HR is convinced that wellness programs are cost effective and good for the organization (and the employees), but that doesn’t mean that management wants to shell out for wellness. Today we share low- and no-cost wellness tips. First, from the Fort Worth Business Press, Jacqueline Benavidez, a client wellness coordinator at McQueary […]