Category: Uncategorized

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DOL Collected $166 Million for Employees in 2005

Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division collected $166 million in back wages on behalf of 241,000 employees for employer violations of laws enforced by the division. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage-and- hour law, the division recovered a total of $134.2 million, including $119.4 million for […]

EEOC Revamps EEO-1 Report for 2007

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has implemented the first major changes to the EEO-1 Report in decades. EEO-1 Reports must be filed annually by employers with 100 or more employees, or employers with federal government contracts of $50,000 or more and 50 or more employees. The EEO-1 Report provides the federal government with […]

No Obligation to Make Light-Duty Accommodation Permanent

According to a new decision from a California Court of Appeals, the state antibias law doesn’t obligate an employer to make a temporary light-duty accommodation for a disabled employee into a permanent one. The case involved Burbank police officer Mark Raine, who injured his knee while on his normal patrol duty. The police department reassigned […]

Employment Law Tip: Adopting a Safe Driving Program

If you have employees who drive motor vehicles for work purposes, it’s important to take a close look at whether you’re doing all you can to ensure employees drive safely and avoid accidents—and your best bet is to implement a comprehensive driver safety program. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an […]

IRS Releases Roth 401(k) Rules and FAQs

The IRS and Treasury Departments recently published final regulations providing guidance on the new Roth 401(k) plans, along with a handy list of questions and answers about these plans. Designated Roth contributions allow for employees to designate all or a portion of their 401(k) employee deferrals as Roth contributions, which would receive treatment much like […]

IRS Simplifies Tax Filing Requirements for Small Employers

The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]

Employment Law Tip: Get Ready to Post Cal-OSHA 300A Form

Beginning February 1 and through April 30, 2006, you’re required to post the Cal-OSHA Form 300A annual summary log of injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005. Even if you had no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2005, you must still post a summary with zeros in the total line. This posting requirement applies to […]

Short Takes: Recording Phone Calls

I know that California law requires both parties’ consent to record or monitor phone calls. So if we intend to record or monitor incoming phone calls, we need to have a recording that says that the call may be monitored or recorded. However, what if we are calling out to a customer or client? At […]

Employee Leave: What Do We Need to Know About Switching to PTO?

We’re considering moving to a Paid Time Off (PTO) program instead of our current separate bundles of vacation, sick time, and personal leave, and we have a bunch of questions. When companies make this switch, do they just add up the number of days and then lump them all together? Impose any restrictions on taking […]