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.

Wage And Hour: IWC Wage Order Hearing Developments

On June 30, in Sacramento, the Industrial Welfare Commission was scheduled to hold a hearing to review current overtime and other wage and hour rules and come up with new wage orders. The commission planned to discuss and take action on several issues including these key items:

Employee Policies And Handbooks: California Supreme Court Says You Can Change Your Policies But Adds New Rules For Employers; 3 Management Strategies

An important new California Supreme Court ruling has affirmed your right to modify or rescind your personnel policies, but it also creates new employee protections—and employer compliance obligations. We’ll examine this decision and look at what you have to do before you eliminate or change a policy.

Hiring Summer Interns And Volunteers: It’s More Complicated Than Most Employers Think; How To Keep From Getting Burned

Now that summer is here, students are looking for hands-on work experience and are often willing to work as a volunteer or intern for no pay. But many employers are not up to speed on the strict state and federal guidelines regarding who is legally considered an employee entitled to be paid at least minimum […]

Age Discrimination: Safeway To Pay $7.5 Million For Terminating Employee Close To Retirement; How To Avoid Similar Litigation

Whenever you discharge an employee over age 40, you leave yourself open to a potential age discrimination lawsuit. And a new federal appeals court ruling demonstrates that your risk is higher—and the potential damages even greater—if the employee is a long-term worker close to retirement.

Negligent Hiring: Court Says You Can Be Sued For On-The-Job Injuries To An Independent Contractor’s Employees; 4 Key Steps To Take

Suppose an employee for a contractor you’ve hired gets injured on the job. Typically, the employee’s only recourse is to seek workers’ comp benefits from the contractor. But a new California Court of Appeal ruling exposes a problem that you might not expect when using independent contractors: You can be sued if the contractor’s employee […]

Workplace Discrimination: High Court Says Religious Nonprofits Can Legally Discriminate; Why Ruling Will Have Limited Impact

The California Supreme Court has recently decreed that religious nonprofits are exempt from California’s employment bias rules. But, as we’ll explain, this doesn’t mean that religious organizations are completely free to discriminate or to violate a host of other employment-related laws.

Retaliation Claims: Employee Wins $174,000 After Getting Fired For Going AWOL To Attend Co-Worker’s Unemployment Hearing; 3 Strategies To Prevent Lawsuits

Juan Manuel Reyes, a sewing machine operator for Los Angeles sport jacket manufacturer J.H. Design Group, left work for two hours to testify on behalf of a former co-worker at an unemployment hearing. Reyes said that he took off during a morning break and didn’t punch out or notify a supervisor for fear of retribution. […]

News Flash: Jury Awards Nestle Manager Over $5 Million In Age Bias Case

A jury in Los Angeles awarded $5.16 million to a former financial manager for Nestle who claimed the company denied him promotions that went to junior employees. The manager was in his mid-40s. He complained to the human resources department and a senior executive but never got a satisfactory response about whether his age was […]