Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The EEOC announced that international entertainment troupe Cirque du Soleil will pay $600,000 to settle a charge that it fired aerial gymnast Matthew Cusick for being HIV-positive, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company claimed it believed his condition posed a direct threat to other performers, but the EEOC argued the decision […]
We are pleased to welcome Shawna Swanson, the newest member of our Editorial Review Board. Ms. Swanson, a partner in the San Francisco office of Fenwick & West, has represented employers in litigation relating to harassment, wrongful termination, and employment discrimination. Ms. Swanson also provides advice to employers concerning personnel policies, wage and hour laws, […]
The California Department of Industrial Relations has made it easier for you to keep your required workplace postings up-to-date. Just go to CDIR website, where, with just a few clicks, you can place an order for up to five copies of any poster you need, and it’s all free.
Some banks charge a paycheck-cashing fee to employees who don’t hold accounts with them. But the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) now says this practice may be illegal. We’ll give you tips on how to steer clear of this problem.
A new IRS bulletin allows employees to receive W-2 forms electronically via an e-mail attachment or a secure website. We’ll go over the key rules you need to know.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA) has several sets of first-aid standards, including detailed schemes for construction employers and similar, but less demanding, standards for most other businesses. Here’s an overview of what you need to know.
In response to the meteoric rise of Internet-related high-tech recruiting, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), working with several other federal agencies, has released long-awaited proposed guidelines defining who employers must count as an applicant to comply with federal recordkeeping and affirmative action rules. In this first installment of our two-part series on the […]
Although the disability provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) were modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the two laws have some key differences—and the California rules provide greater protection for disabled employees. We’ll tell you about a new ruling from a federal court in San Francisco that focuses on […]
A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights how critical it is for employers to take all necessary steps to prevent racial harassment in the workplace and to stop such misconduct when it occurs. We’ll recount what happened and suggest how you can set up an effective antiharassment program.