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E-Alert Item: Medical Marijuana: Fired Employee Goes To Court

Gary Ross was offered a job as a lead systems administrator for RagingWire Telecommunications in Sacramento. In connection with taking a mandatory pre-employment drug test, Ross gave the company a copy of his medical prescription for marijuana, which he used to alleviate pain from an old back injury. Ross also told RagingWire that he wouldn’t […]

Certain religious employers get a reprieve from ACA’s contraceptive mandate from Supreme Court

On New Year’s Eve, just hours before the healthcare reform (also known as the Affordable Care Act or ACA) contraceptive mandate requirement was supposed to go into effect, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a stay and gave the federal government until Friday to respond to the Court. The stay applies to a limited group […]

Employment Law Tip: Guidelines for Education Assistance Plans

According to a new survey on education assistance plans, 94 percent of employers offer some type of education assistance to their employees, with 88 percent of these employers having a formal policy in place. Interestingly, most employees don’t take advantage of this valuable employee benefit: the survey found that 74 percent of employers offering education […]

‘Back in the Lobby’ Article Draws Reader Fire

By Steve Bruce, Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-Pinion Our headline in a recent issue of HR Daily Advisor—"He’s back … in the lobby … with a gun"—was calculated to attract attention; that’s what headlines do. But not the kind of attention we attracted. A number of readers were upset by the headline and […]

E-Alert Item: Most Employers Don’t Offer Holiday Bonuses, Survey Shows

According to a new survey from human resource consulting firm Hewitt Associates, most companies don’t offer holiday bonuses. Out of 432 employers surveyed, 67% won’t offer any type of bonus for the holidays this year–this includes cash, food or other types of gifts. Since 1999, the percentage of employers not offering bonuses has hovered between […]

Bulletin Item: Gov. Davis Signs Several Employer-related Pieces of Legislation

The newly signed laws expand privacy procedures for Social Security numbers (SB 25), provide leave for crime victims and their families (SB 478), mandate that state government contractors provide domestic partner benefits (AB 17 and AB 205), and require employers to protect workers from sex harassment by nonemployees (AB 76). We’ll have all the details […]

Wal-Mart Hit with Mega-Million Verdict for Missed Breaks

A jury in Alameda County has slapped Wal-Mart with a $172 million verdict for denying employees legally required lunch breaks. The verdict came in after just three days of juror deliberation, following a four-month trial in the class-action lawsuit, which filed back in 2002 against the retail giant. Wal-Mart has said it plans to appeal.

New Hourly Rates For Exempt Computer Pros

Under California wage and hour law, computer software professionals can qualify for overtime exemption if they meet certain duties requirements and are paid a specified hourly rate, set annually based on inflation rates by the state Department of Industrial Relations. On Jan. 1, 2007, the minimum hourly rate for exempt computer software professionals will be […]

Bulletin: San Francisco minimum wage goes up

As of Jan. 1, 2008, employees who work in San Francisco (including temporary and part-time workers) must be paid at least $9.36 per hour (up from $9.14). Visit the SFGov.org website to access the required minimum wage poster. Remember that the state’s minimum wage jumps to $8.00 per hour on the first of the year. […]