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The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has reported that in 2006, it recovered a record-breaking $51,525,235 million on behalf of a record 15,273 workers. The OFCCP enforces various federal employment discrimination laws with respect to government contractors. The 2006 figures represent a 14 percent increase over recoveries in 2005, and a 78 percent […]
Many times a supervisor faces serious obstacles (real or imagined) in the effective leadership of his or her department. Here are some of the excuses supervisors commonly given along with some solutions: Employees are people with certain specific functions to perform, but they are not machines—they’re people with feelings and emotions. People like to be […]
An employee has filed a class action lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court claiming that his employer required foreign employees to sign over their federal and state tax refund checks to the company. The lawsuit was filed by Gopi Vedachalam, a citizen of India, against Tata American International Corp., which is a U.S. subsidiary […]
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 […]
States will get one more month, until Dec. 14, to notify federal regulators whether they will set up and run their own health insurance exchanges, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told two governors in a letter dated Nov. 15. Without the extension, the deadline for signaling intent would have been Friday, Nov. […]
I’d like to keep my employees from using their company computers for personal stuff like e-mail. Can I prohibit this? 400+ pages of state-specific, easy-read reference materials at your fingertips—fully updated! Check out the Guide to Employment Law for California Employers and get up to speed on everything you need to know. In general, while […]
The Small Business Administration has partnered with insurer Nationwide to publish a guide to inform business owners about their pension plan options and compliance responsibilities. The guide includes information on: how to determine whether to offer a plan and what type of plan to offer; fiduciary responsibilities; and how to find a qualified pension plan […]
U.S. Bank has agreed to pay $3.8 million to “personalbankers” in several states, including California, who were improperly classified asexempt from the overtime laws. The personal bankers’ job duties included creating newbanking relationships, opening accounts and selling banking services. U.S. Bank contendedthat the workers qualified for the administrative exemption to the overtime laws becausethey were […]
In the November 2005 issue of the California Employer Advisor, we reported on a case that highlighted the tension between the requirements of California disability bias law, the state Compassionate Use Law, and the federal Controlled Substance Act, which criminalizes drug use and possession. The case involved an employee who was refused employment after he tested positive […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld San Francisco’s landmark domestic partner benefits ordinance, which requires that companies doing business with the city must offer equal benefits to domestic partners and married spouses of employees. The court rejected a constitutional challenge by an Ohio company whose bid for a contract with the city was […]