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Three unskilled laborers who were hired to clean a film lab at Metrocolor Laboratories in Los Angeles sued, claiming Metrocolor told them to use a particular cleaning substance without revealing that it contained hazardous chemicals that can cause brain and nervous system damage. The workers’ skin became soaked with the liquid as it rained down […]
Karla Schikore, a Bank of America employee, resigned and requested a lump-sum payment of her retirement benefits. She swore that she’d mailed the bank a form electing to receive lump-sum benefits more than a year before, as required under the terms of the bank’s retirement plan. Unfortu-nately, the bank said it had never received the […]
President Bush has proposed a new package of emergency grants and unemployment assistance to help states deal with increased unemployment following the Sept. 11 attacks. Workers in states where the total unemployment rate has jumped by 30% above the Sept. 11 level would be eligible for an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits, which would […]
The federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-type program previously available only to federal civil service and postal workers, will now be open to uniformed members of the armed services while on active duty and to reservists while on military-pay status. A special enrollment period runs through Jan. 31. More information is available at the TSP […]
Gov. Davis has acted on a number of employment-related bills passed by state lawmakers. Roundup Of New Laws
California employers have long faced complex discrimination issues because of the state’s diverse population. And now a recently enacted state law imposes new restrictions on employers’ ability to set workplace language rules. Language Restrictions Must Be Justified Under the new measure, A.B. 800, it’s illegal to adopt or enforce a policy that limits or prohibits […]
All employers, including state and local government agencies, will have to accommodate nursing mothers’ needs at work under a new law Gov. Davis has signed. A.B. 1025 takes effect Jan. 1, 2002. Meeting Breastfeeding Workers’ Needs Under this new measure, you must provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee who desires […]
Many employers don’t know that they can be hit with a lawsuit if a customer or vendor sexually harasses their employee and they don’t adequately remedy the problem. A new decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, demonstrates the serious liability you can face if you mishandle these tricky situations.
How your workers’ compensation insurer manages your claims can have a big impact on your premiums. In a recent case, an employer whose premiums skyrocketed and dividends dropped for several years sued its insurer for overestimating the amounts needed to be held in reserve to pay claims—and won. This case underscores that keeping an eye […]
When you fire an employee for misconduct, even if it’s for an egregious incident that occurred in public, you still need to be careful who you talk to about it both inside and outside your company. The case of former Golden State Warriors basketball player Latrell Sprewell illustrates how an employer whose termination of an […]