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News Notes: State Workplace Fatality Rate Continues To Fall

The number of California workers killed on the job in 2000 was the lowest since 1992, when the state first published such data. Preliminary figures from the California Department of Industrial Relations show there were 553 deaths in 2000, down from 644 a decade ago. Over 41% of the total deaths resulted from transportation accidents, […]

News Notes: Consumer Privacy Law Takes Effect

As of July 1, 2003, a new law will require California businesses to disclose security breaches of computerized personal data. You will have to inform a California resident when you have a reasonable belief there’s been unauthorized access to their unencrypted personal information i.e., the person’s first name or initial and last name, in combination […]

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 […]

Bulletin Item: A Massive Overtime Class Verdict Reduced

In Bell v. Farmers Insurance, an appellate court threw out part of the verdict awarding employees more than $1 million allegedly owed for unpaid double-time compensation. The court, however, let stand the jury’s unanimous verdict for unpaid time-and-a-half overtime compensation totaling nearly $88.8 million.

There’s An App for THAT?

The U.S. Department of Labor has just announced the launch of its first application for smartphones: a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users can track regular work hours, break time, and any overtime hours for one or more […]

E-Alert Item: Ninth Circuit Says Biased Acts From Long Ago Can Support Lawsuit

Several African-American employees at the Naval Aviation Depot North Island in San Diego sued their employer, claiming that African-American employees at the NADNI were denied promotions over a several-year period. The Ninth Circuit said the employees couldn’t sue over many of the promotions because the employees had failed to file complaints about those promotions within […]

Rules Could Require Fed Contractors to Hire a Certain Percentage of Disabled

Federal employers and contractors may soon have new disability regulations to follow, two federal agencies have announced. Both the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have said they will issue new regulations for the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination in hiring and employment practices by the federal government […]