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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported that workplace discrimination complaints filed by employees in the private sector were up 4.5% in 2002, to the highest level in seven years. The types of bias complaints that saw the greatest increases were those based on religion (up 21% over 2001 figures), age (up 14.5%), and […]
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made its second pro-employer decision of the day in a case involving the standard of proof an employee must meet in retaliation claims. In University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the question was whether an employee must prove that the only reason his employer retaliated […]
The proposal would protect older workers during cash balance conversions by, among other measures, imposing a five-year hold harmless period. During this period the benefits earned by any employee would have to be at least as valuable as benefits under a traditional plan. The new regulations would also provide that cash balance plans do not […]
A recent Gallup study shows the higher the compensation, the happier the employee. Happy employees build business success. But where’s the limit? A classic resource may help you find it. Everyone wants happy employees, right? Happy employees are productive, inventive, and supportive of all you do. Yesterday, we gave you one tool to make them […]
In a series of recent rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court has clarified limits on the damages claimants can recover in employment discrimination cases and other lawsuits. The court paved the way for bigger verdicts by ruling that “front pay”—which compensates a victim of workplace harassment or bias until they find another comparable job—isn’t subject to […]
If we fire an employee, do we have some extra time to get the final paycheck to him or her?
The U.S. Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (formerly the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) has finalized rules for implementing a new federal law requiring 401(k) plans to give workers 30-day advance notice of blackout periods during which they can’t make transactions. The rules took effect on January 26, 2003.
Charles Sinatra, a long-time assistant principal with the Chico Unified School District, sued for wrongful termination in violation of public policy when the district refused his request for transfer to a part-time administrative position, instead giving him a full-time teaching assignment. He claimed he was “forced” to quit for exercising his statutory right under […]
Our story on a host of important bill spending in the legislature. As we go to press a couple of them have already been passed and are now on the governor’s desk for approval. They include the legislation requiring employersto notify employees if their e-mail will be monitored (A.B. 1822) and the measure that would […]
The number of California workers killed on the job in 2000 was the lowest since 1992, when the state first published such data. Preliminary figures from the California Department of Industrial Relations show there were 553 deaths in 2000, down from 644 a decade ago. Over 41% of the total deaths resulted from transportation accidents, […]