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Arbitration: High Court Rules That Class-Wide Arbitration May Be Available-Even If Arbitration Agreement Doesn’t Say So
When an arbitration agreement is silent about whether class actions are permitted, it is up to an arbitrator to interpret the agreement to decide whether a claim can go forward as a class action, according to a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling.Although the mandatory arbitration agreement in this case involved a home loan, the high […]
New Ruling on Liability for Injuries to Contractor’s Employee
In a series of cases in recent years, the California Supreme Court has discussed the circumstances under which an employee of an independent contractor can sue the hirer of that contractor for work-related injuries, rather that just collect workers’ compensation benefits. Now the high court has further clarified when you can be sued for damages […]
Wage and Hour: Minimum Wage Hikes Across the Nation
Californians aren’t the only ones who will see a boost in the minimum wage come January 1. During the Nov. 7, 2006 elections held across the nation, voters in six states approved measures to raise their minimum wage rates. Ohio and Colorado voters approved increases to $6.85, Arizona voters approved a minimum wage of $6.75, […]
Whistleblowers: Supreme Court Scales Back Whistleblower Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a new ruling that limits the right of whistleblowers to recover a slice of the damages paid by government contractors whose violations are exposed. Engineer James Stone filed a lawsuit under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA), charging Boeing Co. made false statements regarding safety and environmental issues at […]
Benefits: What Risks Do We Run If We Alter Our Policies and Benefit Plans to Retain Older Workers?
We’ve been brainstorming ideas for retaining our older workers who have skills we need and that we have trouble recruiting for. Most of our ideas would require us to bend our policies. We’re considering offering our older workers these incentives:
News Notes: Mandatory Employee Furloughs Require Caution
With the economic slowdown, if you’re tempted to ask employees to take time off to cut costs and avoid layoffs, you probably won’t have legal problems with nonexempt, nonunion employees, but use caution when it comes to exempt workers. Under the wage and hour laws, you can’t dock the pay of exempt employees, because they […]
Off-Duty Conduct: Employer Heads to Trial to Defend Charges that Employee Was Fired Because of His Politics
A new ruling from a California appeal court demonstrates why you can’t interfere with the away-from-work activities—including political activities—of your employees.
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IRS Gives Tax Break on Leave Donations to Benefit Storm Victims
Employees who want to help victims of Hurricane Sandy through leave donation may do so without being taxed on the monetary value of the vacation days, sick days and personal leave they donate, the IRS announced Nov. 6. In a leave donation program, employees forgo vacation, sick or personal leave and return it to their […]