Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When the California Supreme Court approved mandatory arbitration for employment disputes last year, one question left unanswered was how existing arbitration agreements that don’t meet all the standards the court set forth would be handled. The contrasting approaches taken in two recent Court of Appeal decisions provide some guidance as to how the line will […]
To avoid FLSA trouble, be careful of misclassifying employees, making improper deductions, denying breaks, and allowing nonexempts to work “off the clock.” Dell Computers built its success on operating numerous call centers, where customers could phone in and buy their systems direct from the manufacturer. Now the way Dell runs those centers is under attack. […]
We reported last week that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was considering an ordinance that would give employers an additional transition period before San Francisco’s controversial paid sick leave law, Chapter 12W, takes full effect. The paid sick leave law was approved by voters and took effect on Feb. 5, 2007.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a new website – Disability.gov – offering information for people with disabilities, their family members, veterans, caregivers, employers, and others. The new site replaces DisabilityInfo.gov and features information about disability-related programs and services as well as social media tools to serve the more than 50 million Americans […]
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, […]
Under the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), group health plans must remind participants every three years that a privacy rights notice is available on request. For small health plans (those with $5 million or less in annual receipts), the three-year anniversary date is April 14, 2007. The anniversary date […]
Following on the heels of a recent California Supreme Court ruling that approved mandatory arbitration agreements for employment disputes, California appellate courts continue to enforce arbitration provisions between employers and employees. In the latest case, a California Court of Appeal required the arbitration of an employment claim even though the employee had never signed an […]
In April 2003, comprehensive new privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act went into effect for large group health plans. Now, on April 14, 2004, the rules will also apply to small group health plans—which includes insured plans with total annual premiums of less than $5 million or self-insured plans with total […]
A few months back, the Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling permitting employers to amend their flexible spending plans (health and dependent care) to give employees a two and a half month grace period following the close of the plan year to use up funds deposited in a flexible spending account during the plan year. The […]