Tag: benefits

Living Wage: Santa Cruz Adopts Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage

The Santa Cruz City Council has voted unanimously to adopt a minimum wage of $11 per hour with benefits or $12 without benefits. The living wage ordinance—the highest in the nation—would initially cover only full-time employees of the city and for-profit employers with city contracts. City officials hope to eventually extend the minimum wage to […]

News Flash: Court Upholds Municipality’s Limitations On Disability Retirement Benefits

A California Court of Appeal has upheld a decision to deny disability retirement benefits to a San Diego city utility worker. Before he started working for the city, Charles Alesi injured his knee several times while jet-skiing and in a beach football game. He then reinjured the knee twice at work and once more while […]

News Notes: Independent Contractor’s Employee Can Sue If You Provide Unsafe Equipment

According to a recent California Court of Appeal decision involving Wal-Mart, you can be sued by an independent contractor’s employee if you supply equipment that’s involved in an accident injuring the worker. Wal-Mart had hired Musi-Cal to install a sound system in the retailer’s Chino, Calif., store. The work involved placing speakers and running wires […]

Employee Benefits: New Ruling Clarifies When You Must Notify Employees In Advance Of Changes To Retirement Plans

When modifying a retirement plan or implementing an early retirement incentive program, most employers don’t announce the news until the details are finalized and the program is set to go. Now an important case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals details when you have to give employees advance notice of a new program or […]

News Flash: Workers’ Compensation Insurers Face Mounting Losses; Employers May Be Hit With Higher Premiums

Some California workers’ comp insurers have been placed on a financial watch list by the California Department of Insurance because rating agencies have raised questions about the insurers’ financial stability. According to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, for each $1 in premiums taken in during 1999, workers’ comp insurers paid out about $1.51 for claims […]

News Notes: Employer Must Consider Reassigning Disabled Employee To Positions At Equivalent Pay Level

A recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals helps clarify which positions disabled employees must be considered for when they can’t perform their present job. Rodney McLean was a postal clerk until his physical condition prevented him from performing his duties. Although he identified many vacant positions at the same pay level […]

News Notes: Temps May Join Unions Where They Work

The National Labor Relations Board has said that temporary and contract workers who are jointly employed by a temp agency and the employer they work for may be included in union bargaining units together with regular employees in the client employer’s workplace. Temps don’t have to receive the same pay and benefits as regular employees, […]

Workers’ Compensation: Lawsuit Against Tosco Tries End Run Around Workers’ Comp Limits

A Tosco worker injured in a catastrophic 1999 explosion and fire at the company’s Martinez refinery and the family of another worker killed in the disaster have filed a lawsuit against Tosco. Employees who are injured on the job are generally limited to workers’ comp benefits. But this lawsuit attempts to sidestep this restriction by […]

News Notes: State Issues Workers’ Comp Fact Sheet For Employees

A free new 10-page “fact sheet” designed to be given to injured workers has been developed by the state Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation. “Working After a Job Injury” explains employees’ rights and responsibilities in returning to work after a workplace injury. It covers such issues as work restrictions, modified jobs, disability […]