Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Some common misconceptions keep small employers from offering health benefits to their employees, according to a recent study by the UCLA/UC Berkeley Health Insurance Policy Program. The study revealed that 38 percent of California employers with 10 to 50 employees don’t offer coverage. The reasons why include these erroneous perceptions: it’s too expensive; it doesn’t […]
Karen Brown, a Lucky Stores Inc. supermarket checker, was arrested for drunk driving, possession of methamphetamines and being under the influence of illegal drugs. She missed two work shifts because she was in jail. The court then ordered her to enter a 90-day round-the-clock drug treatment program the next day, forcing her to miss a […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a new ruling that provides some guidance on when a single remark can amount to sexual harassment. The court also looked at when the timing of a punitive action against a complaining employee does and doesn’t support a retaliation claim. As we’ll explain, the decision suggests that your […]
Mary Jefferson, a teacher’s assistant for the California Youth Authority (CYA), said that a CYA teacher and his students regularly used derogatory language when referring to women, such as “bitch,” “whore” and “slut.” Jefferson filed a workers’ compensation claim, contending that she suffered work-related stress from a sexually hostile work environment. Jefferson also filed a […]
If you use on-call employees, it’s important to understand when you have to pay for their on-call time. In a recent case, an employer failed to properly compensate its on-call workers and was clobbered with a steep bill for two years of back overtime. We’ll provide guidance to help you determine when you must pay […]
During the 12 years Charles Starzynski was a program director for Capital Public Radio Inc. in Sacramento, his supervisor, Paul Corriveau, orally assured him his employment could only be terminated for good cause. Then Starzynski was asked to sign an at-will contract. It stated that his employment was at will and could be terminated at […]
A new threat facing employers is an increase in complex and costly litigation over the handling of employee benefit plans. The potential liability can be substantial, as Occidental Petroleum recently discovered when it agreed to pay $25 million, plus another $3.5 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses, to settle such a dispute. The class action […]
Jack Epter, a New York City Transit Authority clerk, applied for a promotion to station supervisor. Because the job was physically demanding, the Transit Authority required applicants to pass a physical exam. Applicants over 40 years old also had to undergo an EKG, something younger applicants had to do only if their physical exam or […]
When Dipen Joshi left India on an H-1B visa to work for Compubahn, a Silicon Valley recruitment firm, he signed a contract requiring him to remain with the firm for 18 months or pay steep penalties. He tried to leave for a job at Oracle Corp., but Compubahn demanded $77,000 in fees and penalties under […]
In an important ruling for unionized employers, the National Labor Relations Board has overturned 50 years of precedent and changed the rules for employers who wish to withdraw recognition of a union that may have lost majority support. Under the old rule, an employer could withdraw recognition based on a good-faith belief that the union […]