Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Most employers wouldn’t think that replacing a terminated worker over age 40 with someone who is much older would run afoul of the age discrimination laws. But a new case shows that even a seemingly uncomplicated termination like this can be seen as part of a pattern of age bias when examined under a magnifying […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in separate decisions that retaliation is prohibited under two federal discrimination statutes that don’t clearly say so — 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and the federal-sector provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries In the first case, a Cracker Barrel assistant manager sued […]
As layoffs occur nationwide, employers are grappling with how to calm employees’ nerves. But giving an employee false reassurances about job security only to later demote or lay off the person could lead to a costly workers’ compensation claim for stress. A new California Court of Appeal ruling illustrates that acting in good faith shields […]
A new report by Glassdoor, Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap, helps to confirm the existence of wage disparities by sex and why they continue. It is based on a unique data set of more than 534,000 salary reports by employees, which includes pay data down to specific job title and company name.
If a pregnant employee is injured at work and her baby is born with problems, the child can later sue you for damages. That’s the latest word from the California Supreme Court. This new decision could open the door to expensive lawsuits involving fetal injury claims-which won’t be covered by workers’ compensation laws that limit […]
If you carry out misconduct investigations, how good should they be? As good as the jury thinks they should be, say today’s experts. And that better be pretty good, because juries expect a lot from HR. Most organizations are not particularly sophisticated in their investigation policies and procedures, say attorneys Michael Soltis and Allison Bogosian, […]
Update: E-verify deadline moved to September 2009 The deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors to begin using the E-Verify system has once again been delayed –- this time to June 30. The rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees went into effect in January, but […]
We’ve been hearing about the tight labor market for some time now. With unemployment at historic lows, we’ve talked a lot about how hard it can be for companies to attract and retain top talent—it’s a seller’s market when it comes to labor.
For issues such as discrimination … and virtually anything else that’s compliance-related … leave the HR policy writing to the experts. If you read yesterday’s Advisor article on “unconscious discrimination,” it may have raised the same question in your mind as it did in ours. Assuming that recent social research is correct—that managers of good […]
Here’s a quick checklist to help you determine if an employee qualifies under the administrative exemption to the overtime laws. Your administrative employee is probably exempt in California only if you answer yes to all of the following: Does the employee perform office or nonmanual work directly related to management policies or to the general […]