Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Last week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that granted class-action status to a lawsuit—the largest civil rights suit in history—accusing Wal-Mart of sex discrimination in pay and promotions. The class is estimated to consist of up to 1.6 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart unsuccessfully […]
by By J. Robert Brame, McGuireWoods, LLP U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has announced he will retire at the end of the current Court session in June or July. Stevens, who turns 90 on April 20 and is the longest-serving member of the current Court, had hinted that a decision on retirement might […]
Verizon employee Denise Harris was granted family and medical leave for a bad back. Under the union contract covering Harris’ employment, Verizon paid Harris sick pay benefits during the first part of her leave, but cut off her benefits when she didn’t provide a physician’s report confirming she couldn’t work. Harris sued, claiming the failure […]
California is the most recent state to enter into a pact with the U.S. Labor Department aimed at cracking down the improper classification of employees as independent contractors. Nancy J. Leppink, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, and California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su announced their recently signed memorandum […]
Today, gender equality in the workplace is top of mind for politicians, activists, business leaders and workers. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than half of workers (55%) do not believe men and women are paid equally for the same job, and a similar proportion (51%) do not feel men and women are given the same career […]
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 […]
Employers in Illinois that have not done so may need to adjust their plan documents to reflect the new legality of civil unions in that state. Civil unions are legal in Illinois, Hawaii and New Jersey — and will be available in Delaware next year. The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act went […]
In yesterday’s Advisor we talked about “managing up.” Today, tips about managing down, and an introduction to a new audio conference, Handling Difficult Conversations. Here’s a typical scenario between a subordinate and a boss: Bill comes up to Sally, the boss, who is running to a meeting, and says, “We have problem with x.” Sally […]
In the July issue of California Employer Advisor, we reported on a recent proposal by the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to revamp affirmative action guidelines for federal contractors. Several employer groups asked for an extension of the 60-day comment period on the proposed regulations, but the OFCCP flatly rejected their request. The […]
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