Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
We reported in April on a federal court decision from Kentucky involving IBM which held that under federal law, if you’re seriously considering changes to a retirement benefit plan, you must tell your employees. Now, in a pair of new cases, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has reached the same conclusion, explaining that […]
After Thomas White was fired from his job at an Ultramar convenience store several years ago for allegedly stealing a soda, his employer was ordered by a jury to pay $342,000 in lost earnings and punitive damages. And the company’s legal expenses were just beginning, as the case wound its way through the state appeals […]
Here is a handy list of California’s 15 industry and occupational wage orders:
When the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion two years ago suggesting that absences due to the common cold or flu could sometimes qualify as family leave, it was greeted with consternation by many employers. Now, in a new decision, a California appellate court has overturned a $118,000 verdict in favor of a worker […]
When January 1, 2000, rolls around, most California employers will have to pay overtime after eight hours in a day under the new daily overtime law. But adopting an alternative workweek schedule can help you avoid many daily overtime obligations so long as you follow the procedures set out in the new law. If you […]
Governor Gray Davis has just signed new legislation that requires employers to allow workers to use sick leave not only when they are ill, but also to care for a sick child or other family member. The law means many workers can now take paid time off – without being sick themselves – when, for […]
A 56-year-old facilities coordinator who claimed her performance review was downgraded to justify her termination has been awarded $517,077 in damages. Dion Woodward sued Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles for age discrimination after she was fired and allegedly replaced with a 38-year-old. Woodward worked for Kaiser for 31 years and claimed she always received […]
Whenever you discipline or terminate an employee for misconduct, you open yourself up to the possibility of a defamation lawsuit if you say something negative about the person to other employees. But as a recent case shows, exercising caution in internal discussions about a worker’s wrongdoing can help keep you out of trouble, or provide […]
When a group of Latino Avis Rent-A-Car employees at the San Francisco International Airport filed a harassment lawsuit charging a manager with using derogatory racial epithets, they were awarded more than $100,000 in damages. But the workers didn’t stop there. They also convinced the court to issue an order barring the manager from making offensive […]
In a controversial ruling two years ago, a California Court of Appeal ruled that you could discharge high-earning employees over age 40 and replace them with lower-paid workers if your motivation was simply to save money. Labor organizations have sought to overturn the decision ever since, and now Governor Davis has signed legislation that does […]