Category: HR Management & Compliance

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.

News Flash: Jury Awards Nestle Manager Over $5 Million In Age Bias Case

A jury in Los Angeles awarded $5.16 million to a former financial manager for Nestle who claimed the company denied him promotions that went to junior employees. The manager was in his mid-40s. He complained to the human resources department and a senior executive but never got a satisfactory response about whether his age was […]

Workplace Bullying Epidemic: On-The-Job Aggression Is A Growing Problem For Employers; What To Do About It

You’ve probably encountered one sometime or another. The supervisor who resorts to name-calling when dealing with subordinates. The worker who’s quick to blame others for mistakes. The manager who penalizes employees by excluding them from important meetings, removing them from routing lists or saddling them with menial work assignments. Although these workplace bullies may not […]

Workers’ Compensation: Why Cutting Off An Injured Employee’s Health Insurance Benefits Can Be A Costly Mistake

Many employers don’t realize that if you terminate health insurance coverage for an employee who has filed a workers’ comp claim, you can be hit with expensive penalties. In fact, even some comp insurers erroneously advise their policyholders that it’s OK to stop the health benefits of employees on workers’ comp so long as the […]

News Flash: Wonder Bread Lawsuit Charges Lack Of Diversity

Twenty-one African-American workers at a Wonder Bread factory in San Francisco have sued the company for discrimination, saying they were denied promotions, given the worst shifts and subjected to racial slurs. They also claim that not one African-American is in a management position. Wonder’s parent company, Interstate Brands Corp., denies the charges and says it […]

News Flash: EEOC Focuses On Immigrant Workers’ Rights

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that two Maryland food processing plants will pay a total of $1 million to settle a sexual harassment suit on behalf of 22 female workers, all Central American immigrants. Male managers and co-workers allegedly groped the women and demanded sexual favors, and one woman was locked in a […]

Wage And Hour: Stock Option Legislation Gets Speedy Approval

President Clinton has signed into law new legislation, S. 2323, that excludes stock options from overtime pay. The bill takes effect on August 16, 2000, and is intended to counteract a recent Department of Labor opinion letter stating that stock option profits must be included in a nonexempt worker’s base pay when you calculate their […]

Overtime Changes: IWC Wage Order Hearing Developments

As we reported last month, the Industrial Welfare Commission is holding hearings and meetings throughout the state to review current overtime and other wage and hour rules and come up with new final wage orders. In this regular monthly feature, we’ll run down the IWC’s most recent activities.

News Flash: Workers’ Comp Covers Employee’s Cosmetic Surgery

A California Court of Appeal has ruled that a mechanic whose face was disfigured in a workplace explosion can have cosmetic surgery covered by workers’ compensation. The mechanic suffered severe burns when a welding torch ignited a fireball inside the fiber glass tank he was dismantling. The state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board had determined that […]

News Notes: Ergonomics Proposal Moving Forward Despite Opposition

Fed/OSHA continues to move ahead with its controversial ergonomics proposal, despite pending legislation that would require more time for public comment before the rules are finalized. OSHA’s hearings on the proposal wrapped up May 12 after testimony from over 1,000 witnesses, and the agency expects to publish final regulations by year’s end. But the controversy […]

News Notes: EEOC Stepping Up Equal Pay Enforcement; New Focus On Temporary Staffing Industry

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has unveiled a new initiative to boost enforcement of the wage bias laws. The agency will create a new task force to help EEOC investigators analyze equal pay issues when employees file charges. The government is also providing additional educational resources through a new equal pay page on its […]