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A California appeal court has ruled that for purposes of determining whether an employer is liable for an employee’s occupational disease or cumulative trauma injury, the date of injury is when the employee first suffered either temporary or permanent disability—not when medical treatment was received. The ruling is important because, with work-related disease or cumulative […]
Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that strengthening its nationwide approach to investigating and litigating systemic cases of discrimination is now an agency-wide top priority. According to the EEOC, systemic cases involve a “pattern or practice, policy and/or class cases where the alleged discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, […]
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 […]
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.
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. […]
If an employer fails to pay wages as required by contract or law, the employee has the option of filing a wage claim with the state Labor Commissioner. And the commissioner’s decision can be appealed to a trial court. In the event of such an appeal, the law says that the party (either the employee […]
The U.S. Department of Labor, which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), has announced that it will soon publish—by June 2006—a new rule conforming the department’s regulations to recent court decisions concerning the FMLA.
Health insurance costs. We’ll wager that every employer—and every employee—is concerned. So how are companies coping? Let’s ferret out best practices; what’s working in the real world? For years, BLR has surveyed HR and benefits professionals to find trends in benefits. We appreciate your participation in our monthly series of brief, targeted benefits surveys. Today’s […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the latest in its elaws FirstStep Internet tools, the FirstStep Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Notices Advisor, which will help employers figure out which of the agency’s recordkeeping, reporting, and notice requirements apply to them. The FirstStep series also includes interactive tools on poster requirements and an overview of […]