Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A long-standing ruling by the National Labor Relations Board permitted unions to charge workers who were not union members fees that were used in organizing efforts in other workplaces. The rationale behind the rule was that nonunion workers derived a benefit from organizing efforts elsewhere because nonunion employers in the area would be forced to […]
It’s common to ask employees who accept early retirement to agree to waive future legal claims against you in exchange for higher pension payouts. But is it legal? Two years ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that Lockheed Corporation violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when it did just that. The […]
We had a serious discrimination and retaliation claim. The underlying claim got dismissed but the retaliation claim stuck. I think there’s another one in the offing. How can we train our managers and supervisors to avoid retaliation?
The California Supreme Court has handed down an important new decision, answering a wage and hour question that recently has plagued the state’s appeals courts: Is the required payment of “one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation” for each day that an employer fails to provide mandatory meal or rest […]
The U.S. Department of Justice and Time Warner Inc. have reached a $5.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit charging that since 1990 the publishing giant has misclassified employees as independent contractors or temporary workers, causing them to be denied benefits including health insurance, pensions and employee stock ownership. The company did not admit liability, […]
Recently, Cal-OSHA submitted emergency regulations regarding workplace heat illness prevention. At an August 12 meeting of the Cal-OSHA Standards Board, the new rules won approval. The rules require the following:
Terminating an employee is one of the most unpleasant tasks an employer faces. And the fact that you also need to keep track of a complicated set of legal concerns only adds to the stress. Most employers are acutely aware that if you make a mistake, you could be facing an expensive employee lawsuit.
Employers take note: Sept. 30, 2007, is the deadline to file the annual EEO-1 Report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This year, employers must use the new and revamped version of the form (Standard Form 100, rev. 1/06). The EEO-1 form must be filed annually by employers with 100 or more employees or […]
A new federal law now in effect says that if you offer mental health benefits, they must have the same aggregate lifetime and annual limits as medical benefits. The law applies to employers with 50 or more employees. There’s an exemption for employerswho can show the parity requirements will increase their costsby more than 1%. […]