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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow private employers to offer workers compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay. The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017 will now go to the Senate. However, despite having the White House’s support, the bill could face obstacles. The bill H.R. 1180 would […]
The state high court has refused to throw out a $355,200 damage award to a lesbian employee who claimed she was fired after confiding to her boss she was gay. Jan Overholtzer worked for 18 years in the West Contra Costa Unified School District print shop. She said she revealed her sexual orientation to her […]
A federal jury recently awarded $375,000 to a Maryland state trooper who claimed his employer refused to let him take time off to care for his newborn daughter. The award, believed to be the first in a sex discrimination case brought under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, highlights the importance of treating male […]
Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the federal health care reform, Humana and UnitedHealth Group on June 11 announced that they would continue several of health reform’s insurance mandates. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether the “individual mandate” (for everyone to get health insurance or pay a penalty) is unconstitutional, but […]
The California Supreme Court has clarified that nonprofit, religious entities may be exempt from state anti-discrimination laws regardless of how they are incorporated. A nurse at Mercy Healthcare Sacramento sued the hospital for sex and race bias after she was passed up for a promotion. Mercy asked to have the case thrown out, relying on […]
Recently, a California employer was hauled into court by an employee because the employer refused to reimburse its workers for their actual automobile business expenses. Instead, the employer paid an increased commission that it contended was fully sufficient to cover an employee’s business use of his or her personal vehicle. An appeals court took the […]
Rigid administrative requirements make many employers hesitate to participate in so-called 401(k) safe-harbor plans. But these programs can prove valuable because they permit you to avoid costly discrimination testing requirements by following a specific formula for contributions. Now the IRS has issued new rules that add some flexibility. Significant changes include revising the way matching […]
Rent-A-Center, a rent-to-own furniture chain, will pay $3 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that assistant managers in California were improperly classified as exempt from overtime because they only occasionally performed managerial duties. And in a separate lawsuit, about 1,200 California applicants and employees will share in a $2.1 million settlement of claims […]