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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 […]
We have a lot of production workers, several “working foremen,” and a few supervisors. A foreman has said that because of the number of people working under him (10 employees), he should be paid as a supervisor. So now we’re trying to sort out the distinction between workers, working foremen, and supervisors. Is there a […]
A new case puts the focus on the importance of complying with Labor Code paycheck rules, particularly the requirements that employees have a free means of cashing their paychecks here in the state (although checks do not have to be issued by a California bank) and printing on the paycheck the name and address of […]
We’re having problems with people coming back from FMLA/CFRA leave. Two particular situations worry us. In one case, the manager says, “I’ve redistributed the work and there’s no job anymore.” And in the other, the manager says, “We’ve hired a temp who is much better—we don’t want the person back.” Don’t we still have to […]
We’ve experienced a lot of turnover in the past two years—many employees have decided to quit and move on to other companies. On an employee’s last day, I meet with him or her to go over final paperwork, benefits, COBRA, etc., but I think we should also interview the departing employee to find out why […]
In a unanimous decision favorable to employees, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that individual 401(k) plan participants can sue plan administrators under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for breach of fiduciary duty. James LaRue had initiated the lawsuit after his employer failed to follow his investment instructions, which he said resulted […]
As of press time, the U.S. Supreme Court was set to rule on a case that could redefine the claims and remedies allowed under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The lawsuit arose after a 401(k) plan participant asked the plan administrator, which was his employer, to change his elections. The participant claimed […]