Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s important to instruct employees who make work-related phone calls from their automobiles how to use the phones safely to avoid causing potentially tragic accidents. Here are some safety guidelines recommended by the American Automobile Association and the California Highway Patrol:
Employment law in California is changing fast. And unless you stay on top of new requirements, your policies and procedures could be out of date—and you could be headed for a lawsuit. To help you stay out of trouble, we’ve put together a list of key compliance issues you can review to determine whether you’re […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has rescinded a policy under which the agency viewed employer-sponsored health plans that were reduced or eliminated on the basis of age or Medicare eligibility as violating the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The agency acted after receiving input from employer and labor groups suggesting that the rule discouraged […]
Former employees who make off with your trade secrets can spell disaster for your business. Once confidential information is in a competitor’s hands, the damage is done and may be impossible to reverse. Now a case involving Fremont-based Avant! Corp.—which had to pay huge fines and whose top executives are off to jail—provides a dramatic […]
Farmers Insurance Exchange has been ordered to pay $90 million to 2,400 adjusters who claimed they were misclassified as exempt administrative employees and cheated out of years of overtime pay. The record-breaking award by an Alameda County jury could ultimately top $130 million with interest and attorneys’ fees. The adjusters, who make an average of […]
A San Fernando jury has awarded $576,000 to an Auto Club of Southern California employee who claimed she was repeatedly groped and subjected to unwanted attention for two years by a co-worker who was so persistent that he followed her into the women’s restroom. Cheryl Parker said she reported the problem in writing to a […]
A federal appeals court has ruled that an AT&T account representative who suffered from a bad case of the flu was entitled to FMLA leave because she was unable to work for more than three days and was treated twice. Kimberly Miller sued after she was disciplined and ultimately fired for excessive absenteeism. Although […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has given employees at Consolidated Freightways’ Mira Loma terminal the go-ahead to sue their employer under state law for invasion of privacy after video cameras were discovered hidden behind two-way mirrors in men’s and women’s restrooms. The company argued that the case should be thrown out because a determination […]
Employees who qualify for federal family leave may take up to 12 workweeks of leave within a 12-month period. An employer may choose one of four methods to measure the 12-month timespan, such as a calendar year or a rolling 12-month period. Now, a new ruling from the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrates […]
Lawrence Moreau was chief financial officer for Los Angeles-based Direct Express, which was later acquired by Paystation America. Less than three months after starting work, Moreau was fired for allegedly touching two female employees inappropriately. He sued, claiming the charge was unfounded and a company pretext to break his three-year employment contract. Now a Los […]