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.
Most employers know you have to immediately report fatalities or certain serious injuries and illnesses to Cal/OSHA, the state agency that oversees workplace health and safety. But do you know exactly how long you have to report an incident? What information you have to give Cal/OSHA? Or even what phone number to call? It’s critical […]
A union worker is about to be called into a monthly performance meeting. He asks if he needs union representation, and you say no. Then, because of something that occurs during the meeting, you terminate him. Were you wrong not to put off the meeting until he had representation? We’ll review a recent National Labor […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidance to help employers understand the prohibitions against national-origin discrimination and to suggest best practices for fostering a bias-free workplace. Last month, we reviewed what the guidelines have to say about employment decisions and workplace security issues. This month, we’ll explain the guidelines concerning language requirements […]
To be exempt from overtime, an employee must, among other requirements, be paid a predetermined minimum salary, currently at least $2,340 a month, regardless of the quality or quantity of hours worked. However, both federal and California law permit you to dock an exempt employee’s salary under certain circumstances without losing the worker’s exempt status. […]
Under the state and federal family and medical leave laws, you must continue health insurance for employees who are out on leave. But do you know the rules for how much of their premiums you can require employees to pay while they’re off?
A recent ruling illustrates that cutting corners in meeting your notice obligations under federal COBRA—the health insurance continuation law—can mire you in an expensive lawsuit and put you on the hook for someone’s medical bills. We’ll explain what happened and review some simple measures that would have kept this new case from ever reaching the […]
A new bill introduced in the state Legislature would expand the antiharassment provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to require employers to protect workers from harassment by clients and customers. A.B. 76 is a response to a recent court ruling that employers aren’t liable under the FEHA for harassment by clients […]
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) will pay approximately $250 million in disability benefits to more than 1,700 retired state and local safety officers to settle an age-bias lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit charged that CalPERS—following a state law adopted in 1980—linked the amount of disability benefits to […]
Former Walt Disney Co. executive Judy Denenholz, who worked for the company almost 20 years, charged she was fired for refusing to sign off on Disney’s response to an IRS audit. Denenholz claimed that the response significantly understated the company’s back-tax liability. She sued Disney under a California Labor Code provision that prohibits retaliation against […]
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up several workplace-related cases this year. In one, the court will review a Ninth Circuit ruling regarding the type of evidence a terminated employee can use to prove job discrimination when an employer has both legitimate and illegal reasons for the discharge. Other cases on the court’s docket involve […]