Hiring: Can I Impose a No-Spouse Rule?
We’re a fairly small company, so good working relationships are key for us. I think family entanglements in the workplace complicate things; can I legally impose a “no-spouse” rule? — Anonymous
Tag: business
Hours Worked: Employee Entitled to Pay for Time Spent Attending Employer-Mandated Counseling Sessions; Practical Impact
Paycheck Cashing Bills Pending
Employment Law Tip: Protect Your Trade Secrets
As the Yahoo! suit against MForma Inc. highlights, things can get ugly if you suspect former employees have walked off with your trade secrets and joined a competitor. The best way to head off trade secrets disputes—and the potentially disastrous business consequences of your trade secrets getting into a competitor’s hands—is to take steps on […]
Yahoo! Wins Trade Secrets Injunction Against Ex-Workers
Recently, Yahoo! sued startup MForma Group, Inc., a wireless content provider based in San Francisco, claiming that a group of seven Yahoo! workers left the Internet giant to join MForma, taking trade secrets with them–including proprietary source code and other confidential business information. The lawsuit included charges that one former employee, David Chang, copied over […]
High Court to Review Employee Reimbursement Ruling
Recently, a California employer was hauled into court by an employee because the employer refused to reimburse its workers for their actual automobile business expenses. Instead, the employer paid an increased commission that it contended was fully sufficient to cover an employee’s business use of his or her personal vehicle. An appeals court took the […]
Employment Law Tip: Have You Met the HIPAA Security Rules Deadline?
Last year, large health plans (those with receipts of at least $5 million) had to come into compliance with new electronic security rules mandated by HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The rules are a corollary to the HIPAA privacy requirements for individual protected health information (PHI) and specify a series of administrative, […]
Short Takes: Personal Use of Company Computers
I’d like to keep my employees from using their company computers for personal stuff like e-mail. Can I prohibit this? 400+ pages of state-specific, easy-read reference materials at your fingertips—fully updated! Check out the Guide to Employment Law for California Employers and get up to speed on everything you need to know. In general, while […]
Driving: How Do We Properly Calculate Reimbursements?
We’re trying to straighten out our auto reimbursement policy. First, we have employees who drive their own cars between worksites each day as well as to different sites each day. The miles vary from 10 up to 100 miles in a day. Do we have to reimburse them and, if so, at what rate? We […]
Retaliation: Can We Discipline Someone Who Is under an “Umbrella of Protection”?
Occasionally we have an employee we would like to discipline (or fire outright), but the employee has recently done something that leaves us open to a retaliation charge if we take action against them-like making a discrimination complaint, requesting FMLA leave, or talking to OSHA about safety issues. Right now, we have a manager who […]