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DOL Announces Safety and Health Training Grants

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced the availability of a total of $4.6 million in funds in the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. The application deadline of June 28 is fast approaching—read on to see if these grants for safety and health training may help your organization.

Who Can Recoup Attorney’s Fees Under California Wage and Hour Law?

California wage and hour law is a convoluted landscape when it comes to determining when a prevailing employee or employer can recover attorneys’ fees and costs. Under California Labor Code Section 1194, an employee who wins a lawsuit against her employer for nonpayment of overtime compensation is entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees.

California Disability Case Charts New Territory for Employers

A California Court of Appeal has found that an employer may be liable under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for failing to accommodate an able-bodied employee’s request to modify his work schedule to care for a disabled family member. The court’s interpretation of the FEHA creates significant new obligations for California employers.

California Is #1 for Telecommuting

After analyzing the job posting activity of over 40,000 companies in its database, FlexJobs has identified the top 10 states where companies recruited the most state-based telecommuters in 2015. For the second year in a row, California, Texas, and New York lead the states with the highest number of telecommuting job postings.

New Overtime Regs: Alert to California Employers

In its new overtime regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has more than doubled its salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) white-collar overtime exemptions. This causes a rare circumstance in which federal law provides employees with more protections than California law.

Survey Reveals Employer Trends Regarding Leave Management

The landscape of employer leave management continues to undergo change and is increasingly complex. However, results of the fifth annual DMEC Employer Leave Management Survey show that employers of all sizes are mastering compliance and other challenges posed by new leave laws and reinterpretations of regulations.

Was Nurse Immunized from Discipline by Taking FMLA?

By David M. Stevens, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston Employers frequently experience heartburn when employees who have recently taken leave protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) engage in conduct that warrants discipline or even termination. You are rightly concerned about the possibility that an employee in that situation may allege retaliation if you […]

Unexcused Absences Still a Valid Reason for Termination

By John S. Gannon, JD, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C As employment litigation becomes more and more prevalent, employers are left wondering whether it’s ever safe to fire employees who violate company policy. Courts and administrative agencies have ruled against employers that have fired employees for improprieties such as shouting obscenities in the workplace or […]