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By Khristine Scholtz The U.S. Labor Department, continuing its push for a narrow definition of outside salesmen, argued in a friend of the court brief that the outside-sales exemption is limited to employees who make their own sales. At issue is whether pharmaceutical sales representatives must be paid for working overtime hours, or are exempt […]
In an important new ruling, the California Supreme Court has approved an employer’s practice of paying increased salaries and commissions to cover employees’ mileage expenses. At issue was Labor Code Section 2802, which requires employers to indemnify employees for necessary expenditures they incur as a result of the job. The employees here had argued that […]
*Editor’s Note: At the time of this interview, Amazon had yet to announce its new HQ2 location. However, on November 13, Amazon announced that New York City and Arlington, Virginia, will be the locations of its second headquarters. Rumors are flying about Amazon’s likely next location (or locations) for its second headquarters (HQ2). James Davis, the editor of […]
Cigna Corp. has agreed to shell out $8.9 million to settle a government fraud lawsuit triggered by an employee’s allegation of over-billing. The employee had disclosed that Connecticut General Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Cigna, was overcharging the Health Care Financing Administration for photocopy charges. The employee claimed that when the company made two-sided copies, […]
Do I have to pay employees who go on jury duty? What about court appearances?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that by the afternoon of April 2, 2007, it had received enough H-1B work visa petitions—150,000—to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2008. April 2 was the first day employers could submit H-1B petitions for 2008. The H-1B visa program allows U.S. businesses to employ […]
If your website doesn’t include reader friendly alternatives for people with disabilities, such as sight impairments, you might be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Center for Applied Special Technology offers a free tool at that employers can use to test whether their web pages are accessible to disabled individuals. Also, the federal Department of Labor […]
A new study by Mellon Financial Corp. reveals that 81 percent of employers offer employee assistance programs, up from 70 percent in 1996, and 54 percent provide family sick days, up from 42 percent. Although only 6 percent of employers offered domestic partner benefits seven years ago, 35 percent of employers do now. The study […]
We reported on the new Cal-OSHA initiative to educate employers and employees on how to prevent heat-related illness. Employers and employees should also take the time to understand how to prevent another sun hazard that’s a problem year-round: too much exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays.