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President Bush has just signed legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits for laid-off workers. The measure will extend benefits by 13 weeks for the estimated 1.6 million workers whose normal state UI benefits are due to expire in May 2003. Plus, it will restore benefits to the approximately 750,000 workers whose unemployment benefits lapsed just […]
Just a few months after Macy’s department store paid out $125,000 to settle a bias lawsuit by a Muslim sales clerk who was terminated from the Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Store in San Jose, the retailer has been hit with a second lawsuit by another Muslim worker at that store. Hiam Yassine, who is Palestinian, was […]
The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it collected $175 million in back wages in 2002. This is the largest amount collected in 10 years, and represents a 33% increase over back wages collected in 2001.
Over the past year, many employers have seen a huge jump in their workers’ comp premiums—and even bigger hikes may be on the way. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has just reported that the California workers’ compensation insurance industry is under-reserved by a startling $13.7 billion. The WCIRB attributes the deficit to, among other […]
A former San Francisco Municipal Railway custodian sued her employer, claiming that two male co-workers made lewd gestures and sexually explicit comments to her. Lisa Mixon, who started working for the transit agency in 1996, also said that one of the offenders offered her money in exchange for sex. She further charged that she was […]
After a jury awarded Jill Lansdale $1.1 million in her gender-bias lawsuit against Hi-Health Supermarket in Arizona, a court promptly reduced the award to $200,000, which is the maximum permitted under federal Title VII (for employers the size of Hi-Health). Lansdale argued that the cap discriminated against women, especially because race-bias suits aren’t subject to […]
A group of 88 grocery workers will share $248,000 in back wages under a settlement announced between the U.S. Department of Labor and Mi Pueblo Markets in San Jose. The settlement arose out of an investigation by the DOL revealing that Mi Pueblo failed to pay some workers premium rates for overtime hours. What’s more, […]
If an employee’s name or Social Security number differs from information in the federal Social Security Administration’s records, the agency sends out a “no-match” letter to notify the employer of the discrepancy. The letter, which can list one or more employees, asks that correct information be submitted within 60 days.
Suppose a nightclub waitress complains to her employer that male customers often grope her. Her employer ignores her reports, turning a blind eye to the customers’ actions. Can the waitress sue the employer for workplace harassment? A California Court of Appeal recently faced this issue and—in a controversial opinion that may not hold up—has decided […]
Newly enacted legislation, A.B. 2837, boosts penalties and fines for certain workplace safety violations, revamps Cal/OSHA’s investigation and reporting procedures and requires the agency to provide bilingual services. Here’s a summary of what to expect when the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2003.