Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When an employee who has been injured on the job wants to return to work, it can be beneficial to both you and the worker to consider a light-duty assignment. Light-duty positions can keep the employee productive and help reduce workers’ comp costs. But modifying job duties can also present logistical problems and create new […]
When you ask an employee 40 years old or over to sign a severance agreement that includes a release of potential age discrimination claims, there’s an array of strict requirements that must be met. For many employers, figuring out how to comply with these rules has been confusing-especially in cases of downsizing through group terminations […]
It’s a common situation. You send some employees to required continuing education courses after work. Others attend classes simply to learn more about your business or industry. Are the employees entitled to pay for the time they spend in class? Probably not, according to a recent U.S. Depart- ment of Labor opinion. But you might […]
The nation’s largest privately held car rental company is the newest casualty in a growing list of high pro- file employers sued for misclassifying workers as managers. Management assistants for Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently filed a class-action lawsuit claiming they’re owed unpaid overtime because they were improperly treated as managerial employees exempt from the overtime laws.Claims […]
As a general rule, you’re not required to pay overtime to employees who spend most of their time making sales away from your regular place of business. But figuring out which outside sales personnel are really exempt from the overtime laws isn’t always easy, especially because many employees perform a mix of sales and non-sales […]
If an employee breaks or loses a valuable piece of equipment, or a worker owes you money from a loan, you may be tempted to make a deduction from the person’s next paycheck. But you need to act cautiously because there are strict rules governing exactly when you can and can’t take money out of […]
An employer who discharged an older employee because she lacked modern computer skills was not guilty of illegal age discrimination, according to a Sacramento jury. Janet Davis, 49, worked in the accounting department of Yamas Control, Inc. Davis contended she was doing her job satisfactorily and had received several raises and favorable performance reviews. So […]
A new publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health includes recommendations for limiting the negative effects of shift work. Among the strategies covered are scheduling heavy or demanding work when employees are most alert, avoiding quick shift changes and eliminating permanent night shifts. A free copy of the publication “Plain Language About […]
In a case involving the world’s largest law firm and one of the biggest individual sexual harassment awards ever, the California Court of Appeal recently approved more than $3.5 million in damages to a legal secretary who had worked at the firm less than three months. This new ruling and the stunning size of the […]
Mandatory arbitration of employment disputes continues to be controversial. One unresolved issue has been whether union contracts can require workers to arbitrate all employment disputes. The U.S. Supreme Court has now agreed to rule on this question.11 Although arbitration clauses for various workplace disputes have been used for years in union contracts, courts have disagreed […]