Category: HR Management & Compliance
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of National Labor Relations Review Board (NLRB) v. Weingarten gave workers the right to bring a union representative to an investigatory interview conducted by the employer. Following that decision, the NLRB flip-flopped on whether nonunion workers also had these so-called “Weingarten rights”—specifically, whether they could have […]
The nation’s high court has unanimously ruled that workers with employer-sponsored health insurance can’t sue their health maintenance organization (HMO) in state courts when their HMO won’t cover a recommended treatment. The decision is generally being hailed as good news for employers who provide health benefits.
Salem-Keizer Yellow Cab Co., in Salem, Ore., purchased a new automobile liability insurance policy for $10,000 less than its existing auto policy. Yellow Cab probably figured it was making a smart, money-saving move by switching insurance carriers. But, as we’ll explain, the net cost was an expensive age discrimination lawsuit.
A lawsuit charging Wal-Mart with discrimination against 1.6 million female employees has been certified as a class action by a federal district court judge in San Francisco. A key allegation in the litigation—being called the largest civil rights action in United States history—is that Wal-Mart violated state and federal equal-pay laws by paying female employees […]
Last month we reported on legislative action under way in Sacramento. In this issue, we give you a similar heads up on key employment-related legislation, on the table in the nation’s capitol, that could also impact your workplace.
Most employers know they can wind up with a bias lawsuit on their hands if they’re not careful about the language they use when placing a help-wanted ad in the newspaper or online. Here’s a quick checklist you can use to evaluate your ad to help ensure it won’t be a ticking time bomb. A […]
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has upheld the City of Berkeley’s living wage law in the face of a challenge to its constitutionality.1Berkeley’s law, enacted in 2000, requires certain city contractors and lessees to pay workers a minimum hourly wage a few dollars higher than state and federal minimums, plus health benefits. […]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released industry-specific guidelines for preventing musculoskeletal disorders in grocery stores. These voluntary guidelines contain practical recommendations to help grocery store employers and employees reduce the number and severity of ergonomic injuries. OSHA says employers in other industries for which guidelines have not been developed may find […]
A California appeal court has ruled that for purposes of determining whether an employer is liable for an employee’s occupational disease or cumulative trauma injury, the date of injury is when the employee first suffered either temporary or permanent disability—not when medical treatment was received. The ruling is important because, with work-related disease or cumulative […]
Video game retailer Electronics Boutique of America has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court charging the company misclassified managers in the retailer’s California stores as exempt from overtime. The lawsuit charged that managers regularly worked overtime without additional pay and spent more than 50 percent of their […]
