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A California appeals court has ruled that a group of Hollywood screenwriters can proceed with 23 class action age-bias lawsuits against the major studios, television networks, talent agencies, and production companies. The lawsuits, filed by the Writers’ Guild of America, allege that the studios, networks, and production companies crafted a “youth-oriented corporate culture that indiscriminately […]
New California Division of Labor Statistics figures show that workplace fatalities declined last year even as employment numbers rose. In 2003, 456 of the state’s 16,283,000 workers were fatally injured on the job, down from 478 out of 16,215,000 in 2002. The causes of fatalities in 2003 were transportation incidents, accounting for 38 percent of […]
IBM will pay $320 million to current and former employees in partial settlement of a long-running class action lawsuit charging that the company’s conversion of its traditional pension plan to a cash-balance plan illegally discriminated against older workers. Under the settlement terms, IBM’s additional liability, which is under consideration by a federal judge, will be […]
Ernie Ruiz, a driver for Sysco Food Services of San Diego, was accused by a co-worker of brandishing a knife in an argument over a jacket. Ruiz was sent home, Sysco employees called police, and the next day, Ruiz—who denied the accusations—was terminated for violent and threatening conduct. He sued for defamation arising out […]
Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. violated the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by delaying an employee’s reinstatement for one month following the employee’s notification that she was ready to return from a medical leave. A federal appeals court said that under the FMLA, job restoration must occur once the employee is capable […]
A plan to streamline and strengthen enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), has been signed by U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Attorney General John Ashcroft. The document delegates the Department of Labor’s USERRA responsibilities to the Veterans’ Employment Solicitor, and the Attorney General’s USERRA responsibilities to the […]
The state Supreme Court has left in place a ruling that forces some church-backed institutions—such as hospitals and charity organizations—to pay for workers’ contraceptive health insurance benefits. Justices turned down an appeal from a Roman Catholic organization asking the court to overturn a requirement that employers who offer prescription benefits to employees also must cover […]
Pension and welfare benefit plans are generally required to file a yearly return report, which can usually be completed by using the 5500 form that is updated each year. This is an important compliance and research tool for the DOL, and part of ERISA reporting and disclosure rules. For the 2004 form and more information, […]
Among the employment-related bills recently signed by the governor is one requiring that employers with 50 or more employees conduct sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years. A.B. 1825 goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006, and now is the time to begin preparing.
Cases coming before justices during the 2004-2005 term that could affect your workplace include Smith v. City of Jackson, which raises the question of whether the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act recognizes disparate impact age bias claims, as opposed to claims of intentional age bias; and Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Banks, which questions […]