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The Ninth Circuit has thrown out a $15 million class-action settlement in a case accusing Boeing Co. of workplace bias. A group of employees had challenged the settlement, arguing that it was inequitable because some victims would have received up to 16 times more money than others, and that it didn’t do enough to prevent […]
In addition to a 7.2 percent increase to premiums approved by Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, it appears the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Board will seek a 22.5 percent increase to rates. Watch future issues of CEA for additional workers’ compensation information.
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that when public employees make statements as part of their official duties, those statements are not protected free speech. The case involved Richard Ceballos, a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County who claimed his supervisors retaliated against him for sending a memo that said an affidavit […]
Only 25 percent of the 300 mid- to large-sized employers polled in a survey by global HR-services company Hewitt Associates said they viewed a high participation rate in their 401(k) plans as the prime measure of the plans’ success. The survey indicated that more employers are placing less importance on the number of employees enrolled […]
On October 9 of this year a new federal law—called Michelle’s Law—regarding who’s entitled to health benefits will go into effect. The law is named for Michelle Morse, a New Hampshire college student with cancer who continued with a full course load against her doctor’s advice in order to maintain health benefits under her parents’ […]
Gigante USA Inc., a Los Angeles supermarket operator, went to court to get an injunction prohibiting union members from picketing in front of its stores. Gigante argued that the restriction was necessary to protect the safety of store employees and customers following an incident in which union members disrupted a new store’s opening day to […]
Under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), private-sector employers that do business with a labor organization (or a trust in which a labor organization has a business) must make an annual disclosure of payments or loans to union officials, which includes a union or its officer, agent, shop steward, employee, or other representative. […]
One result of the current business downturn is increased employee complaints about unfair compensation or other discrimination. As it takes just one complaint, justified or not, to trigger a probe. That means getting ready for a visit from your friendly DOL investigators. Here’s how to handle things if (or these days, when) they show up. […]