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Gov. Gray Davis has announced the consolidation of several state departments into the new Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The agency contains the Department of Industrial Relations, the Employment Development Department, the Workforce Investment Board and the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. “Working within existing resources, the new agency will result in improved access to employment […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration has issued a fact sheet to help employees preserve their health care coverage after layoffs or a reduction in hours. It outlines the options available to employees, such as COBRA continuation coverage or special enrollment in another group plan.
Journeyman painter Thelma Walker filed a sexual harassment and defamation lawsuit against the San Francisco housing authority and her former job site foreman. Over the next six months, the housing authority was smacked with court fines for repeatedly not responding to Walker’s discovery requests. Walker and the housing authority then tentatively agreed to a settlement […]
Aug. 31 was the last day for Sacramento lawmakers to act on pending bills, and Gov. Davis now has until Sept. 20 to sign measures that made it to his desk.
New federal regulations addressing medical privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have been published in the Federal Register. Group health plans generally have until April 14, 2003, to comply with the new rules.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a practical new guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guide is geared toward small employers, but contains useful information regardless of employer size. Topics covered include: who is protected; avoiding mistakes during interviews; what questions you can ask about a medical condition; and more. For a […]
Now that Sacramento lawmakers have wrapped up the 2001-2002 legislative session, several employment-related measures sit on Gov. Davis’ desk, awaiting his signature or veto. Among the bills Davis is considering are measures that would establish a paid family leave program, prohibit mandatory arbitration, and create new penalties for health and safety violations.
A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that during the first five months of 2002, health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored plans rose by 12.7%. This represents the fastest rate of increase since 1990, when rates jumped by 14%. The study showed that employers are bearing the brunt of the recent increases, and that […]
Several years ago, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mandatory arbitration agreements are unenforceable for discrimination claims brought under Title VII, the federal anti-bias law. But the court has now called this ruling into question. In a new case, the court found that Circuit City employee Monir Najd had to arbitrate […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board erred when it found BE&K Construction Co. guilty of unfair labor practices for suing several unions to stop their campaign against the company. BE&K sued after the unions picketed and distributed leaflets to force the company to build a power plant using only […]