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News Notes: Employer Hit For Not Paying Overtime

A San Diego trial court has awarded $135,838-including a whopping $88,360 in attorney’s fees-to an employee of ATC Distribution Group Inc. who claimed he was improperly denied overtime while working as an assistant manager and interim manager. The employee, who typically worked more than eight hours a day, charged he was misclassified as exempt from […]

HR Compliance Made Easy in 2011

Week in Review—December 24, 2010 Note to Readers: This newsletter appears daily, but we know some of you don’t always have the time to read it everyday. For your convenience, here’s a re-publication of what we covered this past week. Daily, weekly, or anything in between, we’re pleased to keep you informed with the latest […]

E-Alert Item: Employer Must Pay Attorneys’ Fees In Bias Lawsuit, Even Though Settlement Offer More Generous Than Jury Award

Willie Greene sued his employer Dillingham Construction N.A. Inc. for racial harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. A jury awarded Greene $490,000 in emotional distress damages, and the trial court ordered Dillingham Construction to pay an additional $1,025,794 in attorneys’ fees. The company appealed the fee award, arguing that it shouldn’t have […]

News Notes: Trucker Safety Rules Revised

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued revised rules regulating driving hours and rest periods for professional truckers. The rules, which take effect Jan. 4, 2004, will permit professional truck drivers to drive up to 11 hours during a 14-hour on-duty period, provided the trucker receives a 10-hour off-duty period following the shift. For short-haul […]

401(K) Cashouts a Popular Choice for Departing Workers

A new study by HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates shows that many workers cash out their 401(k) plans when they leave their jobs. The study, which looked at nearly 200,000 workers with 401(k) plans, found that 45 percent elected to take a cash distribution when departing, while the remainder either kept their savings in their […]

News Notes: Workers’ Comp Release Bars Harassment Suit

Renae Kohler filed a workers’ comp claim and a harassment lawsuit against her employer, Interstate Brands, based on alleged physical and verbal harassment by her supervisor. Kohler later signed a workers’ comp compromise and release agreement for a $4,000 settlement, which released the employer from “all claims and causes of action” arising from the injury. […]

Bulletin Item: U.S. Supreme Court Takes On Age-Bias Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether age-neutral policies violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) if they adversely impact older workers. The federal appeal courts are split as to whether “disparate impact” claims—which allege that a neutral policy or practice had an adverse, although unintentional, impact on a protected group—are permitted under the […]