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Investigators from the California Labor Commissioner’s Office recently issued over $800,000 in fines to businesses in the restaurant industry for numerous labor law violations during a statewide enforcement effort.
NBC trotted out a repeat — St. Patrick’s Day — last night. My colleague, Jaclyn West, wrote an excellent piece focusing on work-life balance when the episode originally aired back in March. Jaclyn’s post made me think about potential wage-hour issues that arise when employers demand long work days. It’s no secret that wage-hour litigation is a […]
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Texas employers) brought the hammer down on February 18 in an opinion written by Chief Judge Elrod. Glad I was not the nail. Show-cause order issued What is a show-cause order? It’s an order issued by a court to a lawyer essentially saying, […]
By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-pinion Benefits communication is especially critical these days—with little going on in the raise department, employers need to be sure that employees truly appreciate the cost of the benefits they’re getting. Last month we surveyed our readers to see how they are doing it. […]
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the controversial Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA). Under the LAWA, which took effect January 1, 2008, a business found guilty of “knowingly” or “intentionally” hiring undocumented workers faces suspension or revocation of its business license and is placed on probationary status for a period of time. […]
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are a common feature of employee benefit plans. But why would an employer offer an FSA plan to its employees? Well, it’s extra money in your workers’ pockets that you and your employees probably don’t want to leave lying on the IRS’ table. Karen Kirkpatrick, senior compliance adviser for Infinisource, explained […]
To improve health and cut costs, a large corporation has begun firing smokers. But two attorneys are suggesting a better way. January is traditionally a month in which people resolve to change their habits. Those who overeat try to diet. Those who disdain exercise suddenly discover the corner gym. And those who smoke …well, if […]
Two of my colleagues forwarded me a recent New York Times article about the temptation of managers to reward employees who work long hours instead of those who produce results. Maybe they were trying to send me a not-so-subtle message! The article cited a study published in 2010 in which researchers found that employees who […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess The Alberta Court of Appeal has recently added to the ongoing debate in Canada over who is or isn’t an employer in the human rights context. In its recent decision in 375850 Alberta Ltd. v. Beverly Noel and the Director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, the dismissal of the complainant’s appeal […]
A California court recently ruled that an employer’s failure to accommodate an employee’s disability on one single day, even though the employee had been appropriately accommodated for months before that, can still result in employer liability. The employer dropped the ball, the court said, by failing to notify all managers of the employee’s accommodation needs. […]