Taxes: Changes in Law Affect the Workplace
President Bush has signed the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, both of which make important tax changes employers need to keep in mind.
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Child Labor Fines May Be Going Up
News Flash: Legislature Starting To Heat Up
This year looks to be another blockbuster in terms of new employment-related legislation. Next month, we’ll have a full report from Sacramento and Washington, including details on a federal proposal now supported by the beleaguered U.S. Department of Labor to overturn its recent opinion letter and exempt stock options from overtime pay calculations. We’ll also update […]
E-Alert Item: Medical Marijuana: Fired Employee Goes To Court
Gary Ross was offered a job as a lead systems administrator for RagingWire Telecommunications in Sacramento. In connection with taking a mandatory pre-employment drug test, Ross gave the company a copy of his medical prescription for marijuana, which he used to alleviate pain from an old back injury. Ross also told RagingWire that he wouldn’t […]
News Notes: No Comp Benefits for New Employee’s Psychiatric Injury
A California appeal court has ruled an employee couldn’t recover workers’ comp benefits for psychiatric injury stemming from a work-related physical injury because the individual hadn’t worked for the employer for at least six months when initially injured. The court based its decision on a provision of the workers’ comp law that bars benefits […]
Bulletin: Long-awaited FMLA Revisions Delayed Until Next Year
Proposed revisions to Family and Medical Leave Act regulations will not be issued until March 2005, according to the latest regulatory agenda from the Department of Labor. Originally, the Bush administration announced it planned to unveil the revisions in January 2003. The changes to the 1993 leave law have lagged as the DOL repeatedly extended […]
IRS Simplifies Tax Filing Requirements for Small Employers
The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations designed to reduce the tax filing burden for small business owners. As of Jan. 1, 2006, eligible small employers will be able to file the new Form 944 (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return) once a year, rather than filing Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal […]
Download a Discrimination Prevention Checklist
Are you doing all you can to prevent workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation? To help you determine where you could be doing a better job—and prevent costly claims—download California Employer Advisor’s Discrimination Prevention Checklist, which you can use to do a 32-point mental audit of your organization’s bias prevention program.
News Notes: Military Service Members Eligible For New Savings Plan
The federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-type program previously available only to federal civil service and postal workers, will now be open to uniformed members of the armed services while on active duty and to reservists while on military-pay status. A special enrollment period runs through Jan. 31. More information is available at the TSP […]
News Bulletin: Pending Legislation Affecting Employers
The State Assembly recently passed a bill (AB196) that would prohibit employment discrimination based on perceived gender, which includes trans-gender individuals and those who do not fit gender stereotypes. In Washington, the House passed a bill (HR 100) that would permit employers to offer retirement investment advice to employees and require that employers provide plan […]