Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
According to a new survey from human resource consulting firm Hewitt Associates, most companies don’t offer holiday bonuses. Out of 432 employers surveyed, 67% won’t offer any type of bonus for the holidays this year–this includes cash, food or other types of gifts. Since 1999, the percentage of employers not offering bonuses has hovered between […]
Workplace injuries and illnesses in California continue to decline, falling from 6.7 injuries for every 100 workers in 1998 to an all-time low of 6.3 per 100 workers in 1999, according to figures just released by the state Department of Industrial Relations. Of the nonfatal illnesses reported, 56% were disorders associated with repetitive stress. The […]
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a report evaluating its Limited English Proficiency and Hispanic Worker Initiative project.The program was launched in 2006 with $4.9 million awarded to organizations in California, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, and Texas so they could test innovative strategies for delivering language and employment services to limited English proficient and […]
The California Supreme Court has ruled that a Catholic charity doesn’t qualify as a “religious employer” and therefore must comply with the Women’s Contraception Equity Act (WCEA) by offering prescription contraception coverage in its employee health plan if it offers prescription drug coverage—even if the organization opposes contraceptives on religious grounds. This ruling could impact […]
More than a month after Max Baucus, D-Mont., an early proponent of health reform, said the implementation of state-based health insurance marketplaces was going so poorly that a “train wreck” would ensue, the Obama administration is now launching a public relations effort aimed at teaching consumers how to buy marketplace coverage. Marketplaces are supposed to […]
Ernie Ruiz, a driver for Sysco Food Services of San Diego, was accused by a co-worker of brandishing a knife in an argument over a jacket. Ruiz was sent home, Sysco employees called police, and the next day, Ruiz—who denied the accusations—was terminated for violent and threatening conduct. He sued for defamation arising out […]
New developments signal a growing trend toward restricting the use of mandatory arbitration. The California Supreme Court recently decided a case involving charges that the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group misrepresented the fairness of its mandatory arbitration system for medical malpractice claims. The Supreme Court issued a strong directive to lower courts to ensure that private […]
The federal Department of Labor has launched a new Web page to help employers comply with posting requirements for a number of federal laws. By answering a series of questions, you can determine which federal posters you must display and then print them directly from the Internet. The Web page also lists who to contact […]
The controversy over the use of mandatory arbitration for employment disputes continues as federal and state courts send contradictory signals to employers. While the California Supreme Court recently OK’d the use of mandatory arbitration, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said that for some types of claims, such as age or race bias, […]