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.
It’s always disappointing when a top employee leaves your company. But disappointment can turn to disaster—and a lawsuit—if your former star takes along a group of other key employees. That’s what happened in a recent case in which the California Court of Appeal clarified the obligations of existing employees and competitors regarding attempts to lure […]
The California Supreme Court has given an important stamp of approval to the use of mandatory arbitration clauses as a condition of employment as long as they meet certain requirements assuring fairness to employees. In the wake of the ruling, you’ll need to immediately review, and possibly revise, arbitration agreements signed by existing employees and […]
Governor Davis has signed a new law (S.B. 88), which is now in effect, exempting from the overtime rules certain nonsalaried computer software workers who are paid at least $41 per hour. The exemption applies to highly skilled employees doing intellectual or creative work of specified types requiring discretion and independent judgment. Also, certified, salaried […]
California employers continue to be hit by revelations from whistleblowing workers. The Southern California-based Northrop Grumman Corp. has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle a lawsuit by a former employee who accused the defense contractor of overcharging the Air Force for B-2 bomber instruction and repair manuals. The worker who complained to the government […]
A jury has awarded $5.3 million to the first African-American member of the elite Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad. John Francois claimed he suffered repeated harassment and discrimination during his 13 months on the job. Healleged that he was called “boy,” was not allowed to attend conferences, and did not receive the same pay […]
An apartment leasing agent for Los Angeles-based real estate management company Oakwood Worldwide filed a discrimination suit after being fired for allegedly refusing to remove a tongue stud. Mary Haudenshield claimed the stud was not visible and did not violate the company’s dress code. Oakwood has now agreed to reinstate Haudenshield and pay her back […]
Some California workers’ comp insurers have been placed on a financial watch list by the California Department of Insurance because rating agencies have raised questions about the insurers’ financial stability. According to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, for each $1 in premiums taken in during 1999, workers’ comp insurers paid out about $1.51 for claims […]
The Industrial Welfare Commission has posted its revised wage orders. However, the IWC is waiting for further developments on the pending increase inthe state minimum wage before printing the new wage orders and distributing them to employers.
The full Senate will soon consider a bill that would raise contribution limits for individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans. The maximum annual contribution for 401(k) plans would increase from $10,500 to $15,000. IRA limits would rise from $2,000 per year to $5,000, and “catch-up” provisions would allow workers aged 50 and older to put […]
The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that UC Davis will have to face a trial on a charge by Ronald Y. Chuang, a microbiologist and AIDS researcher, that he was discriminated against because of his race and national origin. Chuang claims that the institution failed to give him a tenured position as […]