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A Tool to Keep Line Managers in Line with HR

How do you make line managers follow proper HR procedure when their heads are into everything but? Check out this answer. Yesterday’s Daily Advisor offered a checklist to be sure your policy on leave meets the complex standards of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As FMLA changes, as it likely will during the […]

Employment Law Tip: Paying Employees in a Disaster

The wildfires that have flared up in Southern California are a grim reminder that disaster can strike at any time and result in unexpected workplace closures. A special provision in the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders permits you to send nonexempt employees home—without having to pay a reporting-time premium—in any of these situations: Operations can’t […]

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed

Update: U.S. Senate has passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and it has been sent to President Barack Obama. He is scheduled to sign the bill into law on Jan. 29, 2009. In one of its first major employment law actions of the year, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that will […]

Employment Law Tip: A Simple Precaution Against the ‘Superbug’ at Work

While staph infections have long been linked to hospitals and other healthcare settings, with increasing frequency a super-drug-resistant staph strain—known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)—has been spreading in other communal locations, such as schools and workplaces. During a recent audio conference, experts Jeffrey Hageman, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. […]

$15 minimum wage clears Baltimore City Council

by Kevin C. McCormick On March 20, the Baltimore City Council voted 11-3 to approve a bill that would raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. If ultimately enacted, the minimum wage would be the highest in Maryland. Under the proposed legislation, the minimum wage for employees working in the city […]

Marijuana Disclaimer Must Be Crystal Clear, Court Rules

California law prohibits employers from asking job applicants about most marijuana-related convictions that are more than two years old. A new California appeals court decision, Starbucks v. Superior Court (Lords), highlights the fact that employers must be extremely clear with applicants that they are not seeking this barred info.

Sales Comp and Unintended Consequences

Setting sales comp sounds simple, but it’s easy to get it wrong, and that can be costly. Carelessly designed programs can have disastrous, unintended consequences. For example: If salespeople don’t view your program as competitive, your best salespeople will seek greener pastures. If salespeople don’t view your program as fair, there will be morale issues. […]

Employer to Pay $5M To Settle Inflexible Leave Policy Allegations

An employer will pay almost $5 million to settle claims it automatically fired employees who used 12 weeks of medical leave and were not ready to return to work, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Nov. 9. The settlement resolves claims EEOC filed alleging that the automatic termination policy violated the reasonable accommodation provisions […]