Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
No doubt you’ve heard that Americans are getting heavier. The Surgeon General reports that in 1999, 61 percent of adults in the United States were overweight, twice as many as in 1980. And as of 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly a quarter of all Californians were obese. These numbers—and the […]
A new ruling from a California appeal court demonstrates why you can’t interfere with the away-from-work activities—including political activities—of your employees.
From February 1 through April 30, 2004, most public and private employers are required to post the Cal-OSHA Form 300A annual summary log of injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2003. You must display the summary in a conspicuous place where you normally post notices to employees. During the posting period, you’re responsible for making […]
The University of California has agreed to pay out $9.7 million in damages—and possibly millions more in attorney’s fees—to settle a class action lawsuit alleging sex discrimination against 3,200 female workers at the university-run Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The lawsuit alleged women experienced bias in promotions and were paid less than male employees who performed […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled a labor arbitration provision in a collective bargaining agreement doesn’t bar an employee from filing a lawsuit claiming he or she was discharged in retaliation for filing a complaint with Cal-OSHA. This is true unless the union contract contains a “clear and unmistakable” waiver of the employee’s […]
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published a new report with practical recommendations for how employers can prevent work-related roadway crashes, which have become the leading cause of job-related fatalities nationwide. The tips are useful not just for companies that employ full-time professional drivers such as truckers but also for employers […]
We reported in September on a federal appeal court ruling that Xerox Corp.’s pension plan improperly calculated lump-sum distributions from cash balance retirement accounts, resulting in lower benefits for certain employees who left the company between 1990 and 1999. Now Xerox has agreed to pay $239 million to settle the lawsuit, ending speculation over whether […]
By a vote of 5 to 1, the California Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations has approved a new bill, SBX4 1, to repeal the recent workers’ compensation reform measures (AB 227 and SB 228) set to take effect Jan. 1, 2004. The repeal measure will now go before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
It is anticipated that new Fair Labor Standards Act regulations will be approved early this year. We’ll continue to monitor the developments and guide you through what these changes will mean to your business.
By agreeing to review the case of Pennsylvania State Police v. Nancy Drew Suders, the Supreme Court will now determine whether employers will face the same liability in these situations as they do for supervisor harassment. We’ll keep an eye on the court and give you a thorough analysis of its decision when it becomes […]