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Short Takes: Meal Periods
Some of my nonexempt employees want to work through their meal periods so they can take off early. Is this OK?
Minimum Wage: Federal Minimum Wage Increase on Bumpy Road in Senate
In early January, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over a period of 26 months. The legislation did not include tax breaks to offset the impact on employers. Now, however, the measure has failed to win enough votes in the Senate, […]
News Bulletin: Employment-Related Cases Before State High Court
Cases coming before justices during the 2004-2005 term that could affect your workplace include Smith v. City of Jackson, which raises the question of whether the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act recognizes disparate impact age bias claims, as opposed to claims of intentional age bias; and Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Banks, which questions […]
Pension Plans: County Pension Calculation Ruling Is Retroactive; Huge Costs for Employers
Several years ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that under the County Employees’ Retirement Law, counties have to include all types of monetary compensation-such as cash payments for bilingual premium pay, a uniform allowance, or cashed-out accrued vacation-when determining the amount on which an employee’s pension will be based.But some plan members took their counties […]
Employment Law Tip: Tomorrow Is Deadline for Cal-OSHA Posting
Tomorrow, February 1, is the deadline for posting the Cal-OSHA Form 300A, annual summary log of injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2006. The form must remain posted until April 30, 2007. Even if you had no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2006, you must still post a summary with zeros in the total line. […]
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Federal DOMA Unconstitutional, First Circuit Says, But Doesn’t Disturb State Laws
Employers and plan administrators hoping clarity will soon dispel the confusing tangle of divergent laws governing same-sex marriage and how they must address it in their benefit plans and HR policies have longer to wait. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 31 issued a ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department […]
Workplace Wellness: "Success at Any Level"
According to one columnist, you really can’t fail in creating a workplace wellness program. Here’s a tool to help you do it. If one thing impressed us while writing our recent article on new HIPAA rules for workplace wellness programs, it was this quote from Indiana employment law attorney and business columnist Jim Jorgensen, as […]
Employee Leave: New FMLA Leave Rights for Military Families
President Bush has signed the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4986), which, among other things, expands the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to permit leave for family members of injured military personnel and military reservists called to active duty.