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The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]
By a vote of 315 to 116, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve legislation that would boost the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three steps over a period of 26 months. The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration. Under the legislation, the federal […]
Gov. Davis recently signed a new law (A.B. 2357) that expands the grounds for domestic violence victims to take unpaid time off from work, such as for counseling and relocation. However, some provisions of the new law, which has separate rules for employers with 25 or more workers, are ambiguous and may require legislative […]
Unfortunately, the headline also means that 79% of companies did experience new litigation last year, according to a survey by the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Here are top findings of interest to HR managers. Fulbright’s Fifth Annual Litigation Trends Survey, billed as the “largest canvas of corporate counsel on litigation and trends,” garnered […]
A lawsuit filed by 94 temporary employees of Sacramento County who sought retroactive benefits was resolved under a $1.4 million settlement. The workers claimed the county illegally classified them as temporary employees, thereby denying them benefits. They said that under the county charter, temporary workers may be employed for only 30 days, whereas many of […]
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is offering a “Cold Stress Card” that recommends ways to avoid health problems caused by prolonged exposure to freezing or cold temperatures on the job. According to OSHA, workers in construction, commercial fishing, maritime, and agriculture are at highest risk for these problems, which can include trench foot, […]
Small employers and their employees would be given new flexibility in work scheduling under a new measure introduced in the California Assembly. A.B. 2127 would allow employers with 25 or fewer employees to approve an employee’s written request to work up to 10-hour days within a 40-hour workweek without paying daily overtime. Under current law, […]
Last week, the proposed regulations to implement A.B. 1825 went through yet another round of modifications.
Patni Computer Systems, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts has agreed to shell out over $2.4 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division that Patni underpaid computer professionals employed under the H-1B visa program. The settlement proceeds will be shared by 607 workers employed between January 2004 and December […]