Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A SIMPLE IRA Plan Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers allows employees and employers to contribute to individual employee retirement accounts. As the name implies, it’s a simplified plan geared toward small employers, which means it’s relatively easy to set up and operate, with lower administrative costs than for more complicated types […]
The national median jury award in employment-practice liability cases, which includes discrimination and wrongful termination claims, rose 18 percent in 2003 to $250,000, according to a new report from Jury Verdict Research. At the same time, the compensatory award median for discrimination cases—including age, race, disability, and sex bias—fell slightly by 2 percent to $232,322. […]
Michael Ballaris filed a class action lawsuit claiming that his employer, Wacker Siltronic Corp. in Oregon, improperly subtracted “paid lunch” time payments from weekly overtime compensation. Wacker claimed the deductions were permissible because it wasn’t required to pay employees for their lunch period in the first place. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) permits government employers a reasonable time of up to one year to grant an employee’s request to use accrued compensatory time off. The court held that the FLSA grants government agencies flexibility in scheduling compensatory time off and […]
Employees whose group health coverage terminates may have COBRA continuation rights to coverage in certain circumstances. Now the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its final rules on notice requirements under COBRA, which covers employers with 50 or more employees. Because the final rules differ in some respects from the proposed rules, it’s a […]
As we reported last month, the California Legislature enacted a sweeping overhaul of the state’s 91-year-old system for compensating workers injured on the job—and Gov. Schwarzenegger quickly signed the workers’ compensation legislation, S.B. 899, which took effect immediately. Employers should soon see savings from the new reforms. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has proposed […]
The Department of Labor recently issued final changes to the white-collar overtime exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new regulations take effect Aug. 23, 2004.
Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1975 Weingarten rule, employees have the right to have a union representative present at any investigatory meeting they reasonably believe could result in disciplinary action. In a 2001 case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) further clarified employees’ Weingarten rights by ruling that employees have the right to a representative […]
As we reported last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is tackling a vexing problem that’s a sign of the times—defining who, among all those who contact you over the Internet or via other electronic technology about work, is a true job applicant for purposes of complying with your federal recordkeeping requirements. The EEOC, […]
Summer is near, and with it comes additional workplace hazards, especially for employees who work outdoors in the California sun. High heat and bright sun create special risks—including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and sun-related skin damage—for outdoor workers. Certain insect-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus are more prevalent in the summer […]