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Making Personnel Information Public is Perilous in California

By Joel Van Parys While a California court’s decision addresses personnel information for police officers in particular, all employers should be taking steps to safeguard and protect confidential employee information. The case is a reminder that releasing private personnel information about employees is a big decision that may involve risk for the employer—even if the […]

No gender confusion means no discrimination

It has been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That certainly applies to the following case involving the employment application of a biological female who identifies as a male. While the scenario might be somewhat unusual, the legal issue is one that has been around for decades: Can you […]

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 […]

Watch Out for Exemption Misclassifications in California

It’s important to be sure you properly classify jobs as exempt if you’re asserting an exemption to the overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That message was reinforced by a recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes California) in which the court concluded that state social […]

Q&A on pay surveys and pay raises

For employers looking to utilize pay surveys to get market benchmarks, where should they look? Who is the best source for pay surveys? What about employers who already have benchmarks but want instead to implement raises on a limited budget—how should they determine how much of a raise to give for everyone versus how much to only top performers?

Termination Clauses in Canadian Employment Contracts

By Katie Clayton and Farrah Sunderani If you include a termination benefit in a Canadian employment agreement, it is important to be precise. As discussed in previous Northern Exposure entries, employers in Canada must provide notice or pay in lieu of notice when terminating an employee without cause. This minimum requirement is legislated in employment […]

HOT LIST: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books people are buying on Monday, April 21. 1. The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris. According to the author, the astronomical leverage at investment banks and their hedge fund […]

Value-based Purchasing Spearheads Health and Wellness Management

When a self-insured health plan adopts value-based purchasing and insurance design, its goal is to persuade workers to adopt a healthy lifestyle and go to the best performing providers. That’s how plan savings occur, by catching cases before they become acute care cases that harm a self-insured health plan. Self-insured health plans that want to […]

News Notes: Microsoft Loses Independent Contractor Class Action Lawsuit

Reaffirming its decision from last fall, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal covering California has ruled that employees who were misclassified as independent contractors by Microsoft are eligible to participate retroactively in the company’s lucrative stock purchase program and possibly its pension plan as well. Part of Microsoft’s problem was that its forms and […]