Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
Back in September 2001, we reported on a California employer that was hit with a $30 million lawsuit after one of its employees struck and killed a teenager while driving and using a cell phone. Now the employee, a former attorney, has been ordered to pay $2 million to the family of the teenager, Naeun […]
A new case underscores just how costly a mistake it can be to not provide departing employees with timely notice of their rights under COBRA to continue their group health coverage.
Many California employers will have to provide sexual harassment training every two years to supervisory employees, thanks to a new law Gov. Schwarzenegger recently signed. Those who are covered will have until January 2006 to comply, but preparations should begin now.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports that it has received complaints from thousands of returning military personnel about their reemployment rights under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). To better educate employees and employers about their rights and obligations under this law, the DOL has released draft regulations designed to […]
A former employee can be compelled under an arbitration agreement signed at the time of hire to arbitrate claims arising after the worker’s employment has ended, a California appeals court has ruled. We’ll explain the new ruling and provide drafting pointers that can help you use this decision to your advantage.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces laws requiring certain federal contractors and subcontractors to prepare and maintain affirmative action programs, has launched a new program to give contractors advance warning that they’ve been targeted for a compliance audit.
A California appeals court has ruled that a group of Hollywood screenwriters can proceed with 23 class action age-bias lawsuits against the major studios, television networks, talent agencies, and production companies. The lawsuits, filed by the Writers’ Guild of America, allege that the studios, networks, and production companies crafted a “youth-oriented corporate culture that indiscriminately […]
New California Division of Labor Statistics figures show that workplace fatalities declined last year even as employment numbers rose. In 2003, 456 of the state’s 16,283,000 workers were fatally injured on the job, down from 478 out of 16,215,000 in 2002. The causes of fatalities in 2003 were transportation incidents, accounting for 38 percent of […]
IBM will pay $320 million to current and former employees in partial settlement of a long-running class action lawsuit charging that the company’s conversion of its traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan illegally discriminated against older workers. Under the settlement terms, IBM’s additional liability, which is under consideration by a federal judge, will be […]
Ernie Ruiz, a driver for Sysco Food Services of San Diego, was accused by a co-worker of brandishing a knife in an argument over a jacket. Ruiz was sent home, Sysco employees called police, and the next day, Ruiz—who denied the accusations—was terminated for violent and threatening conduct. He sued for defamation arising out […]