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The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to rehear a Christian university’s challenge to the health reform law in Liberty University v. Geithner. Reviving the case creates the possibility that the High Court may rule on the case itself sometime in 2013, which would make it the second challenge to health reform […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has launched http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/, a new online resource to promote disability awareness. The site is a collaborative effort across multiple federal agencies and includes information on employment, health care and other topics. It contains a resource section for employers, with guidance on legal responsibilities regarding disabled employees and applicants and links to […]
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 […]
Gov. Davis recently signed AB 276, which doubles the penalties for certain labor law violations, including the failure to pay wages.
The IRS has postponed the deadline for businesses to begin making payroll tax deposits electronically until the beginning of next year. The agency backed off the original July 1, 1997, deadline because of pressure from Congress and complaints from smaller employers that they were having trouble complying. Now, if your company pays more than $50,000 […]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released two new useful publications to address workplace health and safety risks. First, OSHA has a new guide to help international business travelers avoid health risks. You can download the guide on the OSHA website. Second, OSHA has prepared a Heat Stress Card, which contains valuable information for […]
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has reported that in 2006, it recovered a record-breaking $51,525,235 million on behalf of a record 15,273 workers. The OFCCP enforces various federal employment discrimination laws with respect to government contractors. The 2006 figures represent a 14 percent increase over recoveries in 2005, and a 78 percent […]
On June 30, in Sacramento, the Industrial Welfare Commission was scheduled to hold a hearing to review current overtime and other wage and hour rules and come up with new wage orders. The commission planned to discuss and take action on several issues including these key items: