Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a half-day program on January 27, 2026, focused on employee noncompetes. The FTC indicated its intent to pursue prosecution of agreements that violate antitrust or otherwise inappropriately limit employee choice. However, the commission is not reproposing the prior rule banning all noncompetes. If workers have issues, the agency suggests […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled a labor arbitration provision in a collective bargaining agreement doesn’t bar an employee from filing a lawsuit claiming he or she was discharged in retaliation for filing a complaint with Cal-OSHA. This is true unless the union contract contains a “clear and unmistakable” waiver of the employee’s […]
Farmers Insurance Exchange has reached a pricey settlement in a long-running class action lawsuit that accused the company of misclassifying claims adjusters as exempt from overtime. Farmers will pay the entire jury verdict from a 2001 trial of more than $90 million, along with about $80 million in attorney’s fees and interest, and $40 million […]
Summer vacations have come and gone, and now it’s back to the grindstone and staring at the computer screen for hours on end. If your employees spend a good portion of their work day in front of a computer, it’s wise to take steps to help prevent computer-related eyestrain. Here are four suggestions:
Ernie Ruiz, a driver for Sysco Food Services of San Diego, was accused by a co-worker of brandishing a knife in an argument over a jacket. Ruiz was sent home, Sysco employees called police, and the next day, Ruiz—who denied the accusations—was terminated for violent and threatening conduct. He sued for defamation arising out […]
If you’re a Connecticut employer with more than 75 employees, you’ll have to fill out an FMLA Report with the Department of Labor this year. But if you planned on downloading the form from the CT DOL page early, you may have noticed that the dates on the Annual Family & Medical Leave Experience Report […]
The controversy over the use of mandatory arbitration for employment disputes continues as federal and state courts send contradictory signals to employers. While the California Supreme Court recently OK’d the use of mandatory arbitration, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that for some types of claims, such as age or race bias, […]
The outcry against a new poster rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has resulted in the postponement of the rule’s implementation by more than two months. The NLRB issued a final rule in August requiring employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The original deadline to […]
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled unanimously that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay workers who are required to don protective gear on the employer’s premises for the time it takes the employees to walk between the changing and production areas. The court also decided, however, that employers need not compensate employees for […]