Proposed Meal Period Regulation Lapses
California employers have been looking forward to a new regulation that would add some flexibility to the law requiring meal and rest breaks for employees. But the wait will be longer than anticipated.
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IRS Releases Roth 401(k) Rules and FAQs
The IRS and Treasury Departments recently published final regulations providing guidance on the new Roth 401(k) plans, along with a handy list of questions and answers about these plans. Designated Roth contributions allow for employees to designate all or a portion of their 401(k) employee deferrals as Roth contributions, which would receive treatment much like […]
New USERRA Poster and Regulation
The U.S. Department of Labor has revised the poster that employers are required to post in the workplace to inform employees of their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). USERRA sets out employment reinstatement and benefits rights for service members, and it applies to all employers regardless of size, including […]
Wal-Mart Hit with Mega-Million Verdict for Missed Breaks
A jury in Alameda County has slapped Wal-Mart with a $172 million verdict for denying employees legally required lunch breaks. The verdict came in after just three days of juror deliberation, following a four-month trial in the class-action lawsuit, which filed back in 2002 against the retail giant. Wal-Mart has said it plans to appeal.
IRS Simplifies Tax Filing Requirements for Small Employers
The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]
Employment Law Tip: Get Ready to Post Cal-OSHA 300A Form
Beginning February 1 and through April 30, 2006, you’re required to post the Cal-OSHA Form 300A annual summary log of injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2005. Even if you had no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2005, you must still post a summary with zeros in the total line. This posting requirement applies to […]
Tool of the Week: Age Bias Special Report
Age bias lawsuits are frequently hitting the headlines these days, oftentimes with big numbers attached. For example, Austrian Airlines has just agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) accusing the airline of age discrimination against former sales director William Thoman, age 51. The agency charged […]
Depression: Can We Fire a Depressed Employee Who’s Not Up to Par?
We have an employee who just got divorced, and lately he’s been coming to work late and cutting out early. His work is suffering, too—he’s making lots of careless mistakes and has been short with our customers, not to mention picking fights with his co-workers. While he used to be a better employee than he […]
Wage and Hour: Can We Dock the Pay of Tardy Employees?
We are having a lot of trouble with employees—both exempt and nonexempt-who come to work late. Our attempts to deal with this haven’t been too successful. In some jobs like the assembly line, punctuality is critical-we can’t run the line without all the people there. In other cases, it doesn’t matter so much as far […]
Short Takes: Recording Phone Calls
I know that California law requires both parties’ consent to record or monitor phone calls. So if we intend to record or monitor incoming phone calls, we need to have a recording that says that the call may be monitored or recorded. However, what if we are calling out to a customer or client? At […]