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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 […]
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, age discrimination charges are the fastest growing type of bias case. From 1999 to 2001, the number of age complaints filed with the agency increased 23.5%. The EEOC points out that age charges—most of which involve employment termination—typically spike in a poor economy as layoffs increase.
When court secretary Alice Jones sued the Los Angeles Superior Court and the County of Los Angeles for harassment, the county asked to be let out of the lawsuit, arguing that it wasn’t her employer—the Superior Court was. A California appellate court agreed, ruling that the Superior Court was Jones’ sole employer because it appointed […]
We earlier reported on a California appeals court ruling thata class action alleging that Sav-On Drug Stores misclassified managers as exempt from overtime couldn’t proceed. The court’s reasoning was that whether or not each manager was properly classified as exempt was an issue that was individual to each store and therefore couldn’t bedecided on a […]
The Workers’ Comp Insurance Rating Bureau has just recommended that California insurers raise their workers’ comp premiums by 12 percent next year. Although insurers remain free to compete and determine how much to charge for insurance, many carriers rely on the bureau’s cost-of-claims data to determine premium increases.
We earlier reported on a new program that makes it easier for employers and benefit plan officials to voluntarily correct certain employee benefit plan violations and avoid enforcement actions and penalties. Now, the Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration has released guidance with FAQs about the VFCP program and useful hypothetical examples. The […]
The National Consumers League has released its list of Five Worst Teen Jobs for 2002. According to Darlene Adkins, NCL’s vice president for labor policy, “many teens are working in unsafe conditions without the proper training or supervision. Too many are injured or killed on the job because they were performing tasks prohibited by federal […]
Soo Cheol Kang, a U.S. citizen of Korean national origin, sued his employer, U. Lim America Inc. for national origin discrimination and harassment under Title VII, the federal anti-bias law. The company argued that it wasn’t covered by Title VII because it only had six employees, rather than the statutory minimum of 15 employees. But […]