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Maintaining Your Competitive Edge

You should encourage and manage diversity in your workplace — not because it’s politically correct (and the right thing to do), but because it helps you improve and maintain your competitive advantage. Today’s fast-paced business world and ever-changing technology have taken employers beyond traditional boundaries, sometimes forcing you to adjust to differences in culture quickly. […]

E-Alert Item: Employer Must Pay Attorneys’ Fees In Bias Lawsuit, Even Though Settlement Offer More Generous Than Jury Award

Willie Greene sued his employer Dillingham Construction N.A. Inc. for racial harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. A jury awarded Greene $490,000 in emotional distress damages, and the trial court ordered Dillingham Construction to pay an additional $1,025,794 in attorneys’ fees. The company appealed the fee award, arguing that it shouldn’t have […]

Recession Hard on Black, Hispanic Job Hunters

According to a report released in November by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), African American and Hispanic workers were hit particularly hard during the first year of the current recession. The report notes that while “the overall labor market conditions deteriorated markedly in 2008 following the onset of the recession in December 2007 . […]

Immigration: Government Issues Revised I-9 Form

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a revised Form I-9, which is the form that all employers must complete for new hires to verify eligibility to work in the U.S. As of Nov. 7, 2007, the new form is the only version that is acceptable for use, although the USCIS says it […]

Bulletin: New state minimum wage goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2008

As of the first of the year, California’s minimum wage will be $8.00 per hour, up from the 2007 rate of $7.50. Keep in mind that this rate increase affects not only hourly, nonexempt workers but also salaried, white-collar exempt employees. As of January 1, the minimum monthly salary for these exempt employees will rise […]

DOL Fiduciary Proposal: Best-interest Broker Contract Planned

The U.S. Department of Labor on April 14 previewed proposed changes to the 40-year-old definition of “fiduciary” that the agency says will increase consumer protection for those seeking advice on retirement investments and 401(k) rollovers. The long-awaited changes will include a new contract for broker-dealers to sign that pledges they will “formally commit to their […]

Whistleblowers: Supreme Court Scales Back Whistleblower Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a new ruling that limits the right of whistleblowers to recover a slice of the damages paid by government contractors whose violations are exposed. Engineer James Stone filed a lawsuit under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA), charging Boeing Co. made false statements regarding safety and environmental issues at […]