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On Monday, July 19, the Federal Register published interim final regulations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury requiring new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010, to cover certain evidence-based preventive care without cost sharing. In other words, plans cannot charge patients copayments, coinsurance, or […]
Although many employers don’t realize it, you can be sued for wrongful termination even if the person quit instead of being fired. That’s because employees can claim they were ‘constructively discharged’ when working conditions become so intolerable that a reasonable person would be compelled to quit. In one recent case, a 56-year-old country club secretary, […]
Employer Survey: Most Employers Have A Workplace Violence Policy But Few Provide Training
Soo Cheol Kang, a U.S. citizen of Korean national origin, sued his employer, U. Lim America Inc. for national origin discrimination and harassment under Title VII, the federal anti-bias law. The company argued that it wasn’t covered by Title VII because it only had six employees, rather than the statutory minimum of 15 employees. But […]
Over the past year, many employers have seen a huge jump in their workers’ comp premiums—and even bigger hikes may be on the way. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has just reported that the California workers’ compensation insurance industry is under-reserved by a startling $13.7 billion. The WCIRB attributes the deficit to, among other […]
Although California lawmakers were unable to pass a universal health insurance law during 2006, new proposals are now on the table. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senator Don Perata have unveiled measures that would require businesses to provide health benefits to employees or pay into a state insurance pool that would provide health coverage.
A federal appeals court has ruled that an AT&T account representative who suffered from a bad case of the flu was entitled to FMLA leave because she was unable to work for more than three days and was treated twice. Kimberly Miller sued after she was disciplined and ultimately fired for excessive absenteeism. Although […]
A long-standing ruling by the National Labor Relations Board permitted unions to charge workers who were not union members fees that were used in organizing efforts in other workplaces. The rationale behind the rule was that nonunion workers derived a benefit from organizing efforts elsewhere because nonunion employers in the area would be forced to […]
A San Diego trial court has awarded $135,838-including a whopping $88,360 in attorney’s fees-to an employee of ATC Distribution Group Inc. who claimed he was improperly denied overtime while working as an assistant manager and interim manager. The employee, who typically worked more than eight hours a day, charged he was misclassified as exempt from […]