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.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued controversial final ergonomics standards that are tougher than California’s current law. The final federal rule is scheduled to take effect Jan. 16, 2001. California will then have six months to adopt a similar standard.
Many employers make it a practice to periodically update their employee manuals and policies. But where do you stand if an employee objects to a new policy? In a recent case, a California Court of Appeal rejected a worker’s attempt to challenge a provision that was added to an employee handbook. More importantly, the court […]
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has issued final regulations revising and simplifying the rules for written affirmative action programs. However, the new regulations also substantially increase the number of employers who must complete the annual Equal Opportunity Survey and submit personnel and compensation data.
The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that benefits plan administrators can be sued for failing to adequately advise employees of the terms of a mandatory arbitration procedure for appealing benefits decisions. Laboratory Corporation of America had a health plan with a 60-day time limit for requesting arbitration after an internal claim appeal was […]
Vanessa Bailey, a gardener at Balboa Park in Encino, complained that she was sexually harassed by her co-workers. Bailey claimed, among other things, that while she was in a city truck, a co-worker exposed himself to her and another had magazines showing naked women. Bailey also said that a park supervisor kissed her against her […]
Coca-Cola has settled a race bias class action lawsuit for an unprecedented $192.5 million. The case was brought by 2,000 African-American workers who claimed they were systematically bypassed for raises and promotions. Coke has also agreed to a complex company-wide restructuring plan with pay equity adjustments phased in over 10 years. Plus, Coke will link […]
In a case that illustrates the danger of being accused of not fully investigating or taking remedial action that is too little or too late, an Orange County jury recently returned a seven-figure verdict for an auto club employee who complained about sexual harassment. We’ll explain how the Automobile Club of Southern California got into […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released comprehensive new guidelines addressing the legality of benefit differentials under several federal anti-discrimination laws. The guidelines apply to health and life insurance, long- and short-term disability benefits, severance, pension and early retirement incentives.
The controversy over the use of mandatory arbitration for employment disputes continues as federal and state courts send contradictory signals to employers. While the California Supreme Court recently OK’d the use of mandatory arbitration, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that for some types of claims, such as age or race bias, […]
A lawsuit filed by 94 temporary employees of Sacramento County who sought retroactive benefits was resolved under a $1.4 million settlement. The workers claimed the county illegally classified them as temporary employees, thereby denying them benefits. They said that under the county charter, temporary workers may be employed for only 30 days, whereas many of […]