Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
With the economy still slumping, many employers are looking for creative ways to cut costs. You may be tempted to force some of your older employees to retire—but this strategy could land you in an expensive age-bias lawsuit. That’s because, under state and federal law, pushing older workers out the door is OK in only […]
Verizon employee Denise Harris was granted family and medical leave for a bad back. Under the union contract covering Harris’ employment, Verizon paid Harris sick pay benefits during the first part of her leave, but cut off her benefits when she didn’t provide a physician’s report confirming she couldn’t work. Harris sued, claiming the failure […]
A new federal court case involves an all-too-familiar scenario. An employer acquired a new business and had to terminate the old workforce. The employer, however, needed to keep some workers around for a few months, so it offered them a severance deal. But when the employer later tried to change the severance terms, it found […]
For more than 10 years, Pamela “P.J.” Harper was director of the legislative travel office, arranging air flights for Sacramento lawmakers. But shortly after returning from maternity leave, she resigned and filed suit against the State Assembly. The problem? Harper claimed she was demoted for taking time during the workday to breastfeed her infant daughter.
Orange-based Bergen Brunswig Corp. dashed off a settlement offer to its former president, Donald Roden, to resolve a wrongful-discharge lawsuit. Theoffer stated only that Roden would receive a $5 million lump sum plus attorney’s fees, and his retirement and other benefits would be continued. After Roden signed the agreement, Bergen Brunswig claimed it had intended for Roden’s […]
Under the state and federal family and medical leave laws, you must continue health insurance for employees who are out on leave. But do you know the rules for how much of their premiums you can require employees to pay while they’re off?
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) will pay approximately $250 million in disability benefits to more than 1,700 retired state and local safety officers to settle an age-bias lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit charged that CalPERS—following a state law adopted in 1980—linked the amount of disability benefits to […]
The Bush administration has proposed rules that would help employers avoid liability for age discrimination when converting traditional pension plans to cash balance plans. We’ll explain what this is about.
President Bush has just signed legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits for laid-off workers. The measure will extend benefits by 13 weeks for the estimated 1.6 million workers whose normal state UI benefits are due to expire in May 2003. Plus, it will restore benefits to the approximately 750,000 workers whose unemployment benefits lapsed just […]
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 […]