Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) is warning employers about recent incidents in which a man has allegedly impersonated a Cal/OSHA inspector and defrauded restaurant owners. The incidents have occurred in Southern California and in Roseville (near Sacramento).
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows employees, both union and non-union, to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid or protection.” This includes an employee’s right to have a union representative present at an investigatory meeting that the employee reasonably believes could result in discipline.
Last year, a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $2 million to former Oakland police officer Janeith Glenn-Davis, who claimed she was passed over for promotion because she was pregnant. The damages included $150,000 in lost earnings plus $1.85 million for emotional distress and other damages.
Companies are issuing iPods to workers to enhance training and communications. But along with the benefits have come serious policy questions. Once you mostly saw them dangling from the ears of teenagers hanging out near the local high school. Now you see them worn by the forklift driver in the warehouse, the receptionist on break, […]
Done right, a solid job descriptions program can bring your company structure and efficiency. Here’s how to get the benefits, while avoiding most of the costs. A recent Advisor article stated the views of an author who believes that job descriptions should be eliminated in preference to having a program that’s poorly done. A haphazardly-built […]
Improper job descriptions can confuse your organization, stifle creativity, and land you in a lawsuit. Here’s what to watch out for. Job descriptions are among the most prosaic tools in the HR toolbox. They’re a basic of every HR program, the blueprint of who does what, when and where, and how it all fits together […]
LITIGATION VALUE: STILL 300,000+ (for the time being. . . ) I don’t think that the “newpeats” introduced any new story lines that would significantly increase the litigation value for these episodes – for the time being. It would, after all, be harder to make things much worse. Having a regional manager tell a Hispanic […]
Companies large and small are getting hit with FLSA-related judgments and settlements. On April 4, Attorney Nancy M. Cooper will tell you how you can keep this from happening to you. Few laws have caused American employers as much consternation as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA.) Passed in 1938 as a simple measure to […]
To avoid FLSA trouble, be careful of misclassifying employees, making improper deductions, denying breaks, and allowing nonexempts to work “off the clock.” Dell Computers built its success on operating numerous call centers, where customers could phone in and buy their systems direct from the manufacturer. Now the way Dell runs those centers is under attack. […]
Exit interviews are normally held with employees who have decided to terminate their employment or who have been discharged for cause. One purpose of conducting these interviews is to give departing workers the chance to express their thoughts, whether positive or negative, about the resignation or termination decision, as well as to offer their suggestions […]