Most Popular

From the CEA Mailbag: Are Paid Birthdays Off the Same as Vacation?

A California Employer Advisor reader asks: Our company policy gives employees their actual birthday off with pay. A birthday that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday will be taken on the preceding or following workday. Subject to a supervisor’s approval, employees may take another day off, but it must be within one week of […]

Drug Policy Should Require Workers to Inform You When They’re Impaired

Drug Policy Should Require Workers to Inform You When They’re Impaired In light of California’s new law legalizing medical marijuana use discussed in the accompanying story, now is a good time to take a look at your current drug and alcohol policies to make sure they cover situations where your employees’ work could be affected […]

Too little too late? Labor movement ‘in crisis’ turning to desperate measures

by John T. Neighbours In 2000, John Sweeney, then-president of the AFL-CIO, declared that unions were going to “organize, organize, organize.” A few years later, a group of unions led by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its president, Andy Stern, split off from the AFL-CIO to form an organization called “Change to Win,” […]

Holidays, OT, and the 12-Month Choice

FMLA hassles never seem to end. Some of the most confusing issues revolve around holidays, overtime, and the 12-month method. Today’s Advisor will clarify these tricky points. What Happens When a Holiday Occurs During FMLA Leave? The fact that a holiday may occur within the week taken as FMLA leave has no effect, and the […]

Say what? Asking employees to take language classes

by Brad Cave Q: Will I be in violation of federal discrimination laws if I provide an “English as a second language” (ESL) employee English language training at the company’s expense? A Any possible discrimination charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be based on national origin. The Equal Employment […]

Taxing Health Benefits Could Cause Unintended Consequences

When President Barack Obama’s aides recently showed new openness toward taxing health care benefits to help cover the uninsured, they suggested an area of possible compromise on health reform. The President had opposed taxing the benefits as a candidate. More recently, the mantra of aides has been that although the tax isn’t Obama’s idea, all […]

Obama administration delays another ACA provision

The Obama administration has delayed another Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision. The administration has postponed a consumer protection provision that limits out-of-pocket costs until 2015. Under the provision, the limit on out-of-pocket costs was not to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. According to the New York Times, the one-year grace […]

How To Detect and Deal With FMLA Fraud

In yesterday’s CED, we looked at one expert’s remedies for family leave headaches. Today we look at her suggestions for dealing with family leave fraud, including FMLA/CFRA’s most-abused provision – intermittent leave.