Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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.
The Small Business Administration has partnered with insurer Nationwide to publish a guide to inform business owners about their pension plan options and compliance responsibilities. The guide includes information on: how to determine whether to offer a plan and what type of plan to offer; fiduciary responsibilities; and how to find a qualified pension plan […]
Monrovia Nursery in Visalia, which sells plants and plant materials to federal agencies, has agreed to pay out more than $511,000 to 240 women who alleged that the company’s hiring practices discriminated against qualified female applicants. The settlement grew out of a compliance review by the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Under Honda of America Manufacturing Inc.’s attendance probation program, a worker who had too many unexcused absences could be terminated. Also, absences for military, family and medical, and other types of leave could prolong an employee’s probationary period by the number of days spent on the leave. Now a federal district court has ruled Honda’s […]
Although what the changes will mean to employers remains to be seen, there has been a big shake-up at the state agency that oversees employment matters. Among those leaving are Acting Director Chuck Cake, Acting Chief Deputy Director Suzanne Marria, and Labor Commissioner Arthur Lujan.
Unicom, a maker of computer network components, agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), on behalf of 10 current and former employees, that alleged the company discriminated against African-American, Hispanic and female employees. Unicom did not admit any wrongdoing but has agreed to bring in an outside consultant to […]
A recent proposal made by President Bush would grant temporary legal status to those undocumented immigrants who are already working in the United States if an employer vouches for them. Legal status would be granted for a maximum of six years. Workers who do not qualify for green cards by the end of the period […]
In a new ruling, the California Supreme Court has affirmed employers are automatically liable for sexual harassment committed by supervisors, but damages for an employee who doesn’t take reasonable steps to avoid or report supervisor harassment can be reduced. We’ll examine the new case and suggest smart employment practices that can help you limit damages—and […]
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an employer’s refusal to rehire a former employee who violated the company’s drug use policies. This means employers may continue to use neutral policies, but an employee can still prove the employer intentionally discriminated against them and is just using the policy as a pretext to hide wrongdoing. We’ll […]
A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling illustrates why it is so important for HR personnel and frontline managers to understand the provisions of the state and federal family and medical leave laws.
No doubt you’ve heard that Americans are getting heavier. The Surgeon General reports that in 1999, 61 percent of adults in the United States were overweight, twice as many as in 1980. And as of 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly a quarter of all Californians were obese. These numbers—and the […]