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.
A new law permits employees who are the victims of serious crimes and relatives and domestic partners of crime victims to take unpaid leave from work to attend legal proceedings. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2004.
You terminate an injured employee for reasons unrelated to their injury. But if you assume the discharge ends your obligation to provide the employee with vocational rehabilitation services, you could be in for a costly surprise.
One of the fastest-growing concerns for employers is toxic mold in the workplace. According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), toxic mold can affect indoor air quality and cause serious health conditions. These problems are fueling an increase in litigation over the presence of mold, and big-money settlements and judgments in the […]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new bulletin reminding employers that most workers under age 18 are prohibited from operating forklifts for nonagricultural operations. Plus, says OSHA, workers over 18 must be properly trained and certified before driving forklifts in the workplace. Note that Cal-OSHA also prohibits teens from driving […]
A California appeal court has ruled an employee couldn’t recover workers’ comp benefits for psychiatric injury stemming from a work-related physical injury because the individual hadn’t worked for the employer for at least six months when initially injured. The court based its decision on a provision of the workers’ comp law that bars benefits […]
The Internal Revenue Service has issued new materials to help small businesses and plan administrators understand how to maintain the tax-favored status of employee retirement plans. A pamphlet explains the various correction programs operated by various federal agencies, and a CD-ROM includes more detailed information on the correction programs, guidance on qualification requirements and self-audit […]
According to a new Ninth Circuit ruling, a group of health care employees who worked more than 40 hours a week, with the time split between two employers, was eligible for overtime pay because the companies qualified as a single enterprise. The two companies, A-One Health Care and Alternative Rehabilitation, had substantially merged their operations […]
In calculating profit-based bonuses for certain store employees, Ralph’s Grocery Co. subtracts the store’s workers’ compensation costs as well as cash and merchandise shortages. David Swanson, a former Ralph’s store manager in Southern California, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and other employees challenging these bonus deductions. He claimed the grocer violated […]
The new Health Insurance Act of 2003, signed into law by Gov. Davis, 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. Here’s a summary of the law.
Gov. Davis has signed landmark legislation to reform California’s troubled workers’ compensation system and put a lid on the upward spiral in workers’ comp costs faced by California employers. And now, after having pored over the numbers, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) has recommended that the 12 percent pure premium rate increase scheduled […]