Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Pension and welfare benefit plans are generally required to file a yearly return report, which can usually be completed by using the 5500 form that is updated each year. This is an important compliance and research tool for the DOL, and part of ERISA reporting and disclosure rules. For the 2004 form and more information, […]
Among the employment-related bills recently signed by the governor is one requiring that employers with 50 or more employees conduct sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years. A.B. 1825 goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006, and now is the time to begin preparing.
Cases coming before justices during the 2004-2005 term that could affect your workplace include Smith v. City of Jackson, which raises the question of whether the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act recognizes disparate impact age bias claims, as opposed to claims of intentional age bias; and Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Banks, which questions […]
Over the past several years, many employers have been blindsided by big class action lawsuits from employees who say they were misclassified as exempt from overtime and are owed millions in back pay. Farmers Insurance Exchange, Big Lots, and Electronics Boutique are just a few of the businesses hit by the suits. For a brief […]
One of the more controversial laws enacted in California last year was S.B. 2, the Health Insurance Act of 2003. The law requires many California businesses to either provide health coverage to part- and full-time employees or pay a fee into a state health coverage fund. The law is scheduled to be phased in beginning […]
A new California Supreme Court ruling sends a warning that if you lure away someone else’s employees by illegal or unfair methods—even at-will employees who are free to leave their jobs anyway—you could get hauled into court.
Last year, the California Supreme Court made it easier for public employees to sue over job bias by ruling that they can bypass their employers’ internal grievance process and file a discrimination complaint directly with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). Now a California appeal court has clarified an issue left open […]
Most employers are at least somewhat familiar with binding arbitration, and many know the ins and outs of litigation far too well. But you may not know as much about workplace mediation—another process that might keep you out of court and give you more flexibility than an arbitrator’s ruling. Here’s a look at the mediation […]
In 2002, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, designed to deter corporate corruption and protect employees who blow the whistle on corporate transgressions. Now the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency designated to handle whistleblower complaints under the act, has released final rules regarding the complaint filing and investigation process. […]
Carolyn Claxton was an office assistant for Pacific Maritime Corp. She filed workers’ comp claims against Pacific Maritime for a slip-and-fall injury and for an injury to her “psyche due to sexual harassment.” She then filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Pacific Maritime and manager Ray Waters.