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A new rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is being touted by the agency as a moderate measure aimed at ensuring that workers understand their rights, but it’s drawing fire from some employers who call it a “punitive new rule” from a federal agency overreaching its authority. The NLRB issued a final rule […]
Lucky Stores faced a typical problem. An employee who was injured on the job wanted to return to work even though his doctors had imposed restrictions on his duties. The supermarket carefully considered the employee’s work limitations, extended his disability leave more than once and eventually offered him a part-time job he was qualified to […]
If you don’t get bosses to have your ideas, heaven forfend, they’ll come up with their own. And that spells disaster for both of you. Bill Oncken, late management training guru of Managing Management Time, used to say that managers need to get the boss to have the managers’ ideas. Face it, he said — […]
According to a new report from the federal General Accounting Office, employer surveillance of employees’ Internet, e-mail or other computer activities doesn’t appear to have changed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The study involved interviews with executives at 14 Fortune 100 companies. While all of the companies stored employee e-mail […]
According to a new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, union membership in 2002 sank to its lowest level in 20 years. In 2002, 13.2% of workers were union members, down from 13.4% in 2001 and a high of 20.1% in 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available. More than 2.5 million […]
Self-funded student health plans and state high-risk pool coverage will be considered minimum essential coverage for calendar year 2014, but they will have to get approved by a health insurance exchange to gain such consideration in 2015, under rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Carrying minimum essential coverage is required for an […]
A bill just signed by Gov. Davis significantly raises the stakes in harassment cases by making all employees who harass co-workers potential targets of a lawsuit. We’ll focus on how the law has changed and the impact it may have on you and your workers.
Jacalyn Thornton, a part-time reporter for the Fresno Bee newspaper, spent about one-third of her time working at a computer keyboard. After she developed a repetitive stress disorder and became unable to use a keyboard, the paper terminated her. She sued, contending that her discharge violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Ninth Circuit Court […]
Small businesses that seek to improve their retirement plans should have access to more information from the federal government. That is the recommendation of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which in a recent report steers clear of advocating bold moves and suggests that the federal government improve what it’s already doing in order to better […]
The California Industrial Welfare Commission has scheduled two important meetings in May that could lead to significant overtime changes this summer. First, the IWC will meet at the state office building in Van Nuys on May 5 to discuss how the new overtime rules impact meal periods, exempt employees’ duties, pharmacists and theski industry. […]