Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Oops! One way or another these articles never got properly categorized.
Starting July 1, it will be illegal in California to drive while using a cell phone, unless the phone is equipped with a hands-free device. Also as of July 1, teens under age 18 can’t drive while using a cell phone—even using a hands-free device. Teens also can’t drive while using any other mobile service […]
All deductions from an employee’s wages will be made in accordance with applicable law and, when required, the employee’s consent. Deductions may be made from an employee’s wages for Social Security taxes, federal and state income taxes, child support, garnishment, and assignment of wages, as applicable. Employees will be notified of deductions due to court […]
We thought managing PTO was going to be easy, but we’ve found some problems with carryover of PTO hours. We currently allow unlimited carryover, but that’s going to cause some problems down the road (like three-month vacations). So we’d like to limit carryover. Is there a carryover rule? We really want to force employees to […]
More and more of our employees are traveling outside the U.S. and are going to remoter places. What suggestions can you offer in the areas of health and security? — Marcia D., HR Manager in Los Angeles Many companies are regularly sending workers out of the country, which brings up a new set of […]
We’ve been struggling with keeping production up because of employee vacations. So instead of trying to fight vacation schedules, we want to start shutting down for a week in December and again in July and making everyone take vacation during those weeks. Are there any laws about doing this or any problems that you foresee? […]
Skyriver Communications, Inc., a San Diego wireless broadband Internet service provider, employed Mark Combs as director of network operations and classified him as an exempt administrator. Combs spent about 60 to 70 percent of his workday ensuring that the company’s network was operating properly at all times. Combs eventually resigned, and he slapped Skyriver with […]
A bill that would give employees more time to file lawsuits challenging discriminatory pay practices has run into trouble in Congress. The federal Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 (H.R. 2831) was introduced last year to circumvent a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the deadline for workers to file pay bias complaints is […]
According to the results of a new survey, 31 percent of employees won’t use all of their vacation days this year, and the average U.S. adult will leave about three vacation days on the table. The survey, conducted by online travel agency Expedia, found that work stress is driving the trend toward foregoing all available […]
Our company has decided that it would be beneficial to offer employees the opportunity to work from home. Before we enter into work-at-home arrangements with employees, we want to have a written telecommuting policy in place. What should we cover? —Andrew W., Human Resources Specialist, Santa Cruz Telecommuting can be a cost-effective alternative to […]
A San Diego judge has ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay its California coffee baristas a caffeine-jolting $100 million in back tips and interest, after finding that the coffee chain violated California wage and hour law by allowing shift supervisors to share in employee tips. The lawsuit was filed as a class action in 2004 by […]