Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled that a negative performance evaluation didn’t support an employee’s retaliation claim because the employer promptly corrected the problem. Aybike Kortan, a clinical psychologist with the California Youth Authority, received a bad review after she complained about a supervisor’s harassment. The court said the poor review, while retaliatory, […]
Last year, a computer hacker broke into the Rancho Cordova-based Stephen P. Teale Data Center, a California personnel database. The hacker gained access to the names, Social Security numbers, and payroll information of over 200,000 state government employees. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated occurrence—identity theft incidents are making the headlines almost daily.
In August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new rule describing the steps an employer must take to verify an employee’s Social Security number (SSN) when it receives a “no-match” letter from the DHS or the Social Security Administration. Under the rule, employers would be required to fire employees—or face government legal action—if […]
The nation’s high court has unanimously ruled that workers with employer-sponsored health insurance can’t sue their health maintenance organization (HMO) in state courts when their HMO won’t cover a recommended treatment. The decision is generally being hailed as good news for employers who provide health benefits.
Things are getting really busy, and now employee A wants FMLA leave, B has jury duty, and C needs an accommodation. It can be frustrating, but employees have rights, and it’s foolhardy to challenge them. In yesterdays’ Advisor we began covering 10 essential steps for avoiding employee lawsuits. Here are steps 5 through 10: Step […]
A new law taking effect in Hawaii on January 1 prohibits prospective employers from requesting or considering a job applicant’s wage or salary history as part of an employment application process or compensation offer.
Do employees who oversee different teams within a company that perform the same job, in the same location and at the same time as other teams, fall into the category of an “executive” under the Fair Labor Standards Act? Recently several employees argued that their responsibilities were so standardized that they did not fall under […]
According to the Kansas City Star, a local jury has awarded more than $2.1 million to Melissa Howard, who said she was passed over for a Kansas City judgeship because she was white. A county assistant prosecutor, she was one of three white women who were finalists for the position but claims that the Kansas […]
Can employees diss your company on the Internet and get away with it? In a growing number of cases, the answer is No. Last December, Time Magazine named as its Person of the Year—a title usually reserved for world leaders and Nobel Prize winners—“You.” They even attached a mirror to the magazine so that “You” […]
Under HIPAA, it’s been very difficult to run a company wellness program – until now. If there has been one constant theme in government employment regulations, it’s the battle against discrimination. Anything that even hints at bias is absolutely prohibited, even to the point, some feel, of being counterproductive. Such has been the case with […]