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 San Diego trial court has awarded $135,838-including a whopping $88,360 in attorney’s fees-to an employee of ATC Distribution Group Inc. who claimed he was improperly denied overtime while working as an assistant manager and interim manager. The employee, who typically worked more than eight hours a day, charged he was misclassified as exempt from […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has issued another in a string of rulings invalidating mandatory arbitration agreements used by electronics retailer Circuit City. In the latest case, Circuit City employee Paul Mantor claimed the company indicated to employees that they risked their future with the retailer if they chose not to […]
Following a 113-day trial, a San Francisco judge threw out a $1.1 billion class-action lawsuit charging State Compensation Insurance Fund, the state’s largest workers’ comp insurer, with unfair claims reserving and business practices. The suit alleged that from 1989 to 1995, State Fund maintained an illegal claims reserving standard, overcharging its policyholders. The judge’s written […]
United Parcel Service will pay $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed in a San Francisco federal court charging that it violated state and federal disability bias laws by discriminating against deaf employees and applicants. The suit charged that deaf workers weren’t given accommodations, such as interpreters for important workplace meetings, and were denied promotions. […]
In a new opinion, the California Supreme Court has made it more difficult for employees to prove they were discriminated against for filing a workers’ comp claim. We’ll explain the court’s ruling.
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas employed Catharina Costa as a warehouse worker and heavy-equipment operator. She was the only woman in this job and in her local Team- sters bargaining unit. Eventually, Costa was fired after an altercation with a male co-worker.When Costa sued for sex discrimination, Caesars contended her termination stemmed from Costa’s lengthy […]
Bad feelings between two co-workers erupt, and one goes on the attack. The other worker could back off but instead defends himself. You fire both employees. But now you have a lawsuit on your hands charging the termination violated the right to self-defense of the employee who defended against the attack. Will the court dismiss […]
Suppose an employee is on family and medical leave to care for an ill family member, but you discover they’re also using the time for their own recreation. Can you discipline or terminate the worker for misusing the leave? We’ll look at a new Cali- fornia appeals court ruling that gives you latitude to handle […]
When an arbitration agreement is silent about whether class actions are permitted, it is up to an arbitrator to interpret the agreement to decide whether a claim can go forward as a class action, according to a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling.Although the mandatory arbitration agreement in this case involved a home loan, the high […]
Many employers lease rather than hire employees to reduce the costs of managing employee payroll and benefits. Leasing firms usually carry workers’ comp insurance on the leased workers, which can save you money and headaches. But as one employer recently found, if you don’t administer your leasing arrangement carefully, you could face expensive legal problems […]