Short Takes: Records Access
What rights do employees have to access their personnel records?
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Should You ‘Friend’ Your Boss? Let Your Boss ‘Friend’ You?
Thinking about “friending” your boss on Facebook®? You may want to reconsider. According to a recent survey, nearly half of executives are uncomfortable being friended by employees they manage (48 percent) or their bosses (47 percent ). Social networking is invading the office. The issue used to be, “Which friends will I ‘friend?’” But what […]
Court Rules on Forced Vacation Time for Peace Officers
5 Crucial Things HR in Start-Ups Needs to Know
Human resources shouldn’t even be called human resources. It’s an outdated term, and there are so many things wrong with it. First off, humans are not resources. They are team members and people who work hard. Second, managing people is not all “HR” does. It also helps build and promote the culture, creates employer branding, […]
Wage And Hour: Labor Department Spells Out When You Do–And Don’t–Have To Pay For After-Hours Training Time
It’s a common situation. You send some employees to required continuing education courses after work. Others attend classes simply to learn more about your business or industry. Are the employees entitled to pay for the time they spend in class? Probably not, according to a recent U.S. Depart- ment of Labor opinion. But you might […]
News Flash: Limits On Retirement Benefits To Go Up
Employees will be able defer a maximum of $10,500 to their401(k) plans next year, rather than the $10,000 cap currently in effect, under newcost-of-living adjustments announced by the IRS that go into effect January 1. Inaddition, the maximum annual benefit that can be funded through a defined benefit planwill rise to $135,000 from $130,000, although […]
News Flash: Hearings On Overtime Exemption For Computer Professionals
The state legislature continues to consider a bill that wouldexempt professionals in the computer industry from overtime. As we went to press, theAssembly’s Appropriations Committee has a hearing set for June 28 on S.B. 88, whichalready passed the state Senate. The proposal would relieve computer-industry employersfrom having to pay overtime to hourly workers who earn […]
Overtime Pay: Workers Seek Back Pay For Meal Periods
Under strict new rules adopted last year by the state Industrial Welfare Commission, you may be liable for a penalty of an additional hour’s pay for each day that you fail to provide a nonexempt employee with a required meal break, unless they’ve consented in writing to an on-duty meal period. Now three former employees […]
Arbitration: High Court Rules That Class-Wide Arbitration May Be Available-Even If Arbitration Agreement Doesn’t Say So
When an arbitration agreement is silent about whether class actions are permitted, it is up to an arbitrator to interpret the agreement to decide whether a claim can go forward as a class action, according to a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling.Although the mandatory arbitration agreement in this case involved a home loan, the high […]
News Notes: Mandatory Employee Furloughs Require Caution
With the economic slowdown, if you’re tempted to ask employees to take time off to cut costs and avoid layoffs, you probably won’t have legal problems with nonexempt, nonunion employees, but use caution when it comes to exempt workers. Under the wage and hour laws, you can’t dock the pay of exempt employees, because they […]