Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Jennifer Barrera The Commission on the Status of Women is a state agency founded in 1965 to study issues affecting women and to advise the California Legislature and state agencies on inequities in laws, practices, and conditions that affect women. The commission asked the California attorney general to respond to two inquiries regarding the […]
State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on economic development subsidies given to companies for moving existing jobs from one state to another, according to a study released today by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Washington, D.C. The report is titled The Job-Creation Shell Game. Greg LeRoy, executive […]
A new case underscores the need for employers to bone up on the rules regarding when injured workers must be provided with a workers’ comp claim form. In the case, a California appeals court rejected an argument that David Carls, a sign painter for the Claremont Colleges in Southern California, should be denied workers’ compensation […]
How your workers’ compensation insurer manages your claims can have a big impact on your premiums. In a recent case, an employer whose premiums skyrocketed and dividends dropped for several years sued its insurer for overestimating the amounts needed to be held in reserve to pay claims—and won. This case underscores that keeping an eye […]
Performance appraisals can help strengthen your case if you’re sued by an employee. Providing an inadequate evaluation, or no evaluation at all, can be used against you with devastating results. Juries tend to come down hard on employers who don’t appear to have given an employee a chance to improve.
From Dan Oswald: As a way to honor the individuals who have taught me critical life lessons about people and business, I’ve invited several to write guest columns to run in this space over the next few weeks. Today’s voice of experience is provided by a mentor whose business acumen and people skills have guided […]
A county government in Washington state agreed to pay $215,000 in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after its report of a minor breach led to an HHS investigation that found “general and widespread noncompliance” with HIPAA privacy and security rules. The incident originally reported by Skagit County, Wash., in […]
Federal contractors need to be preparing now for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new pay transparency rule, a rule going into effect in January that is likely to present challenges to a number of employers, according to an attorney familiar with its provisions. “This rule appears to me to be part of the overarching […]
PEDs—portable electronic devices such as laptops, PDAs, pocket drives, and memory cards—are in your office by the dozens. Are they putting confidential data at risk? Generating unexpected overtime? Destroying productivity? It’s time for a separate PED policy. First, courtesy of our sister newsletter, the Safety Daily Advisor, let’s consider the various laws that relate to […]
How’s this for a news flash: People don’t like to get fired. And when they do get fired, they look for someone else to blame. Guess who? “You fired me because I’m X (fill in the blank with the name of a protected class).” That’s one lawsuit, but that’s not the end of it. The […]