Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Mix-ups with leave-related paperwork can bring on expensive headaches, as one employer recently discovered. Sam Duty, a mechanic and welder at Norton-Alcoa Proppants, injured his neck at work and took seven months of medical leave. But eventually a dispute erupted when it turned out that an error in the company’s FMLA paperwork gave Duty more […]
Because of an important new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, employers may now have an uphill battle to fight when faced with allegations that discrimination was one factor—even if not the only factor—in an adverse employment decision such as a termination. We’ll explain what this is about and suggest ways you can avoid this […]
OSHA has developed the first draft set of industry-specific ergonomic guidelines—Guidelines for Nursing Homes—as part of its comprehensive plan to reduce workplace ergonomic injuries. The guidelines address management practices, worksite analysis and control methods, and include examples of best practices in the nursing home industry.
The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a nearly $1 million award to a dry cleaning firm and its owner for allegedly defamatory statements made by a union during a collective bargaining dispute. While meeting to discuss ongoing wage negotiations, the union president informed union members that the company president was hiding money […]
Despite the prosperity of the late 1990s, the number of workers covered by employer-sponsored health care insurance did not grow. The Center for Studying Health System Change found about three-quarters of people under age 65 were covered by employer-sponsored health care in 2001, the same as in 1997. In 2001, 75.6 percent of workers had […]
A California Court of Appeal has thrown out a jury award against an employer accused of negligently allowing a teacher’s aide to repeatedly sexually assault an 11-year-old emotionally disturbed student. The court said the employee’s acts were personal and had no purpose connected to his employment. The court noted that for the employer to be […]
A growing number of Americans are unhappy with their jobs, according to a new Consumer Research Center survey. Only 51 percent of employees polled were satisfied with their jobs, compared to 59 percent in 1995. And while 40 percent were content with their wages, only 20 percent were happy with their companies’ promotion and bonus […]
The IRS has decreased the mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for business use of a car from 36.5 cents to 36 cents per mile. The new rate—which applies to miles driven beginning January 1, 2003—was prompted primarily by the decrease in gasoline prices.
Governor Davis has signed many new laws of interest to employers, ranging from creating a paid family leave program to implementing new layoff notice requirements; from new prohibitions against age discrimination to important changes to consumer report laws; from new restrictions on absence control policies to additional guidelines on responding to employee requests to view […]
Einstein Bagels, a national chain of bagel stores–which includes Noah’s New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagels–has agreed to pay over $495,000 in back overtime to settle claims that it misclassified 424 assistant managers in 27 states, including California. The settlement grew out of an investigation of Einstein locations by the U.S. Department of Labor. In […]