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Legislation Special Report: Wage And Hour

Wage and Hour Appeals AB 223 makes it harder for employers to recover attorney’s fees and costs in connection with an employee’s appeal from a labor commissioner wage and hour ruling. If the court awards the employee a sum greater than zero in the appeal, the appeal is successful and the employer can’t recover its […]

Garamendi Recommends Further Pure Premium Rate Cut

Last week, California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi recommended a 15.3 percent drop in the pure premium rate for policies incepting Jan. 1, 2006. The commissioner’s recommendation was just shy of the 15.9 percent decrease that the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) recently recommended to the commissioner.

Sexual Harassment: Judge Blasts San Francisco Housing Authority

A San Francisco trial judge has found that the San Francisco Housing Authority ignored repeated employee complaints of sexual harassment allegedly committed by a female supervisor. Both men and women reported that they had been subjected to inappropriate touching and invitations to view explicit material on a computer, and said the supervisor threatened their jobs […]

IRS Form Amended to Collect Health Outcomes Research Tax

Starting July 31, 2013, the IRS will start collecting, and employers will start paying, a new excise tax authorized by the health reform law. This annual fee will be imposed on most insured and self-insured group health plans for the next seven years.   The feds have amended the April 2013 IRS Form 720 (Quarterly Federal […]

Employees Want More Money and Are Willing to Ask for It

Even in a strong economy, employers often feel the need to be money-conscious. After all, the basic profit equation is pretty simple: The money I earn minus the money I spend equals my profit. For most businesses, particularly in the service sector, salaries make up a huge portion of company costs and overall revenue.

News Flash: Overtime Update: Computer Wage Board Under Review; New IWC Hearing Dates Announced; Multiple Agenda Items

  The California Industrial Welfare Commission has scheduled two important meetings in May that could lead to significant overtime changes this summer. First, the IWC will meet at the state office building in Van Nuys on May 5 to discuss how the new overtime rules impact meal periods, exempt employees’ duties, pharmacists and theski industry. […]

News Notes: New Medical Child Support Notice Expected This Year

The federal government is developing a new employer notice dealing with court-ordered medical support obligations for children of divorced or separated parents. The “National Medical Support Notice” will notify you of your obligation to withhold pay when necessary to enroll a noncustodial parent’s child in an employer-provided healthcare plan. Although new regulations were to be […]

News Notes: Employer Never ‘Paid’ Employee Whose Paycheck Was Illegally Intercepted

  Felix C. Villafuerte complained to the Labor Commissioner that Pasadena-based Inter-Con Security Systems Inc. never paid him his final wages when he quit. Inter-Con claimed it had mailed a final paycheck to Villafuerte but that an unknown person had illegally intercepted and cashed it by forging Villafuerte’s signature. A California Court of Appeal now […]

News Notes: UPS Settles With Deaf Workers For Millions

United Parcel Service will pay $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed in a San Francisco federal court charging that it violated state and federal disability bias laws by discriminating against deaf employees and applicants. The suit charged that deaf workers weren’t given accommodations, such as interpreters for important workplace meetings, and were denied promotions. […]