Short Takes: Undocumented Workers
Are undocumented workers protected by California labor laws?
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IRS Simplifies Tax Filing Requirements for Small Employers
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 […]
News Flash: Wage And Hour Hearings Wrap Up
On June 30, the Industrial Welfare Commission finished a series of hearings intended to finalize new wage orders that will be issued in October. At the hearing, the commission adopted new rules on a variety of wage and hour issues, including clarification of alternative workweek election and repeal regulations, changes to the meal period rules, […]
News Flash: Temporary Workers
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 […]
Gender Pay Gap Remains Wide
News Notes: Court OKs Trading Pension Benefits For Signed Releases
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 […]
News Flash: Whistleblower Collects Over $800,000 Of $8.9 Million Fraud Settlement
Cigna Corp. has agreed to shell out $8.9 million to settle a government fraud lawsuit triggered by an employee’s allegation of over-billing. The employee had disclosed that Connecticut General Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Cigna, was overcharging the Health Care Financing Administration for photocopy charges. The employee claimed that when the company made two-sided copies, […]
News Notes: Warehouse Retailers Subject To New Safety Provisions
A new law—S.B. 486—that’s aimed at increasing worker and customer safety in wholesale or retail warehouse establishments requires that if such businesses store merchandise on shelves higher than 12 feet above the sales floor, they must secure it from falling. Security methods could include safety rails, netting, security cables, shrink-wrapping pallets or tying items together. […]
Congress Moving on Federal Minimum Wage Hike
We recently reported that the U.S. House of Representatives had approved a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over a period of 26 months. Now, the Senate has approved similar legislation, which, unlike the House measure, would provide tax breaks to small businesses to offset the economic impact of paying a higher […]
New federal minimum wage poster available
On July 24, the federal minimum wage rose to $5.85 per hour, with further increases in the next two years that will take the rate to $7.25 per hour. Most California employers aren’t affected by this rate increase, as the California minimum wage remains higher. However, all employers are required to post the current federal […]