Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The federal government pulled in a record $49.9 million last year for employees who filed complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an increase of $34 million over the last six years, according to recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission statistics. Topping the list were HIV-related claims of $10.5 million, followed by orthopedic and back injuries […]
A California Court of Appeal has ruled that Beverly Hospital in Montebello didn’t violate the state family leave law by terminating a physical therapist who missed work to help her seriously ill mother move to a new apartment. Marjorie Pang claimed her time off was protected because she was providing psychological care for a […]
Most employers wouldn’t think that replacing a terminated worker over age 40 with someone who is much older would run afoul of the age discrimination laws. But a new case shows that even a seemingly uncomplicated termination like this can be seen as part of a pattern of age bias when examined under a magnifying […]
The rules on when you can legally dock exempt employees’ pay are complex, and it’s easy to make mistakes. For example, if you dock when you shouldn’t, the person could be considered an hourly worker entitled to back overtime. However, under a special federal provision known as the “window of correction” rule, you may be […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) has just released its new enforcement strategy to ensure that pension plans comply with ERISA. The main target: defined contribution programs, particularly 401(k) plans. This means you could be hit with hefty penalties for pension plan administration errors, such as delinquent employee contributions and […]
Defending against an employee’s claim for overtime that you didn’t even know they had worked can be frustrating and expensive. And if you lose, you could be on the hook for up to three years of back overtime plus penalties. We’ll review a recent case involving a Fresno employer who managed to win this type […]
Many employers have no-fault attendance policies, which call for discipline or termination after an employee has a certain number of absences – regardless of the reason for the time off. But as one employer recently found, these policies may conflict with the family leave laws. We’ll look at what happened and offer other alternatives for […]
Under flexible benefit or cafeteria plans, once the plan year starts, employees are locked into their benefit elections and can’t make changes except in a few limited situations. But in a move that will be welcomed by employees, the IRS has recently announced rules that take effect immediately and greatly expand your employees’ ability to […]
Come July, you can expect several changes in the wage and hour regulations. That’s because the new daily overtime law gives the California Industrial Welfare Commission until July 2000 to review the current overtime rules and come up with new regulations and wage orders. At stake are modifications to a variety of wage and hour […]
On March 31, the Industrial Welfare Commission held a hearing to address amending the Interim Wage Order that took effect on March 1. Among other things, the IWC appointed members to two new wage boards but tabled for the time being a controversial proposal to exempt highly paid workers from overtime. And it appears as […]