Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
One of the fastest-growing concerns for employers is toxic mold in the workplace. According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), toxic mold can affect indoor air quality and cause serious health conditions. These problems are fueling an increase in litigation over the presence of mold, and big-money settlements and judgments in the […]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new bulletin reminding employers that most workers under age 18 are prohibited from operating forklifts for nonagricultural operations. Plus, says OSHA, workers over 18 must be properly trained and certified before driving forklifts in the workplace. Note that Cal-OSHA also prohibits teens from driving […]
A California appeal court has ruled an employee couldn’t recover workers’ comp benefits for psychiatric injury stemming from a work-related physical injury because the individual hadn’t worked for the employer for at least six months when initially injured. The court based its decision on a provision of the workers’ comp law that bars benefits […]
The Internal Revenue Service has issued new materials to help small businesses and plan administrators understand how to maintain the tax-favored status of employee retirement plans. A pamphlet explains the various correction programs operated by various federal agencies, and a CD-ROM includes more detailed information on the correction programs, guidance on qualification requirements and self-audit […]
According to a new Ninth Circuit ruling, a group of health care employees who worked more than 40 hours a week, with the time split between two employers, was eligible for overtime pay because the companies qualified as a single enterprise. The two companies, A-One Health Care and Alternative Rehabilitation, had substantially merged their operations […]
Two new bills extending the rights and benefits provided to spouses to domestic partners were recently signed into law. We’ll take a look at the new laws. State Contractors Can’t Discriminate Under AB 17, certain state contractors have to provide employee benefits for registered domestic partners on the same basis as they do for spouses. […]
In calculating profit-based bonuses for certain store employees, Ralph’s Grocery Co. subtracts the store’s workers’ compensation costs as well as cash and merchandise shortages. David Swanson, a former Ralph’s store manager in Southern California, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and other employees challenging these bonus deductions. He claimed the grocer violated […]
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a new fact sheet with guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the hiring process. The fact sheet, available at www.eeoc.gov, addresses employer obligations to accommodate disabled applicants and medical inquiries that are and are not permissible during the hiring process.
The new Health Insurance Act of 2003, signed into law by Gov. Davis, requires many California businesses to either provide health coverage to part- and full-time employees or pay a fee into a state health coverage fund. Here’s a summary of the law.
Gov. Davis has approved legislation taking aim at corporate corruption. The new laws, modeled on the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, protect employees who blow the whistle on possible corporate transgressions, create steep new fines for not disclosing corporate financial fraud, and add an important new workplace posting requirement. Here’s an overview of what you need to […]