Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Last month, as a follow-up to recent Supreme Court affirmative action rulings, we explored the reasons to adopt diversity practices in your workplace and how to implement a diversity program. This month we’ll look at best practices to help ensure your diversity program is successful and legal.
Freddy Hernandez, a lead technician for Spacelabs Medical Inc. in Chatsworth and then in Redmond, Wash., was abruptly terminated after 20 years on the job—just weeks after he reported that a supervisor harassed a co-worker. We’ll explain why the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, said Hernandez can sue Spacelabs for retaliation.
Diabetes is a major health problem affecting more than 17 million Americans—about 6.2 percent of the population—according to the American Diabetes Association. Chances are you might have an employee who asks you for a reasonable accommodation related to the disease. We’ll tell you about a new ruling that focuses on this issue and suggest ways […]
Gov. Davis has signed new legislation that boosts the penalties for various California Labor Code violations, effective Jan. 1, 2004. Here are the increases that are on the way:
Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, decided that federal antibias laws don’t prohibit employers from requiring job applicants and employees to sign mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. The case then went before a full panel of the Ninth Circuit for review—which has now handed down another strong […]
When Air France denied family leave for employee Stephane Moreau, who worked at the San Francisco International Airport, the airline argued it wasn’t covered by state and federal family leave laws because it had fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of Moreau’s workplace. Moreau countered that Air France was covered because it […]
The California HealthCare Foundation has launched a new website to help small businesses make informed decisions about health benefits. The website, www.healthcoverageguide.org, includes a comprehensive checklist to guide you through the coverage selection process—from gathering the business records you’ll need to choosing a broker, comparing policies, estimating costs, and much more.
A California appeals court has ruled the San Francisco Retirement Board correctly excluded amounts paid for unused vacation and sick leave whencalculating “average final compensation” to determine retirement benefits. Under the retirement plans, average final compensation only included compensation earned during the period an employee provided credited service. Under San Francisco’s system, vacation and sick […]
A Los Angeles jury ordered Sony to pay $1.4 million to Klaus Wang, a company technician for more than 14 years who was fired when he returned to work following a California Family Rights Act medical leave. Sony argued that Wang was terminated for poor job performance and the decision to fire him was made […]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released a bulletin providing information on workplace precautions against West Nile virus, an illness transmitted primarily by mosquitoes. This year, hundreds of cases of the virus have been reported in 33 states. And while the virus had so far bypassed California, as we went to press a […]