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Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that, in most cases, an employer doesn’t have to make an exception to an established seniority system to provide an accommodation to a disabled worker. Now, the same court has clarified its original ruling, going even farther in protecting seniority policies. The case involved a disabled […]
In continued fallout from a tragic 1999 fire at the Toscore finery in Martinez, the company has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit for emotional injuries suffered by a subcontractor’s employee. Alfred “Chip” Simoni witnessed other workers burn to death while working on the refinery tower. He was unable to return to […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Today BLR founder and CEO Bob Brady looks at the pros—and many cons—of e-mail and meetings, and he asks for your opinions about the biggest e-mail annoyances. Which wastes more time, e-mail or meetings? According to no less an authority than the New York Times, the economy loses […]
A coal mine in Birmingham, Ala. will pay $40,000 to settle allegations it failed to reassign a worker with a disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rocky Davis had hearing loss and was regularly assigned to an area of the mine that adversely affected his hearing aids, according to the U.S. Equal […]
Caribou Coffee, a Minnesota-based coffee shop chain, has been slapped with a class action lawsuit charging that the company violated state labor laws, similar to California’s, that bar management from sharing in customer tips left for employees. The lawsuit was filed close on the heels of a California court’s ruling in March 2008 that Starbucks […]
The first case, Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, involved an employer’s decision to lay off 31 employees, 30 of whom were age 40 or older. The workers sued, claiming the layoffs had a disparate impact on older workers in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The employer claimed it based its […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has delayed the implementation of a new rule and new Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) governing the types of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents that employees may present to their employers.
The IRS and Treasury Departments recently published final regulations providing guidance on the new Roth 401(k) plans, along with a handy list of questions and answers about these plans. Designated Roth contributions allow for employees to designate all or a portion of their 401(k) employee deferrals as Roth contributions, which would receive treatment much like […]