Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has reconsidered two opinions it issued last year. In one case, the court had ruled that the anti-retaliation provisions of the federal wage and hour laws don’t protect workers who are fired for griping about overtime violations directly to their employers rather than to the government. The court […]
If equal pay issues aren’t visible on your radar screen, they should be. That’s because both the government and disgruntled employees continue to target employers who violate equal pay laws. Congress is actively debating a bill that would strengthen federal equal pay rules (see the Special Supplement on pending legislation in this month’s Bulletin). And […]
When hiring a new employee, promoting an existing worker or reviewing compensation packages, it always helps to know what your competitors are paying. You don’t want to shell out too much or discourage the best talent by paying too little. California employers have just gotten some new tools to assist them. The California Employment Development […]
An Orange County jury has ordered Edwards Theaters Circuit Inc., based in Newport Beach, to pay $276,000 in back overtime wages to four theater managers who claimed they were misclassified as exempt from overtime. The employees said they spent more than half their time performing non-exempt work, including cleaning up, taking tickets and selling popcorn, […]
San Jose’s City Council recently approved the highest living wage in the nation, guaranteeing certain workers far more than required by state or federal minimum wage laws. But San Jose’s new policy isn’t the first in California-and it looks like it won’t be the last.
Most employers are familiar with the basic concept of equal pay for equal work. But it’s critical to understand the details of the rules because you can be liable for hefty damages and penalties if you make a mistake. In Part 1 of our series on preventing equal pay problems, we’ll explain what your obligations […]
Six former ticket sales employees of the Seattle SuperSonics won more than $13 million in damages last year after being fired for complaining about overtime violations and retaliation. But now, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers California, has thrown out the retaliation claims. The court said the workers could not sue for retaliation […]
An IRS audit claiming you misclassified workers as independent contractors rather than employees can be frustrating and expensive to resolve. But recent changes in IRS procedures for handling independent contractor classification problems may take some of the sting out of dealing with the government. New Rules For Independent Contractor Disputes Under the prior rules, if […]
Employers frequently insert confidentiality provisions into termination and settlement agreements to prevent others from learning the details of the arrangement or other sensitive information about the company. And once an employee signs such an agreement, you may think that’s the last you’ll hear of it. But a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision shows that nothing […]
If you require employees to attend training or other meetings off-site, do you have to pay them for the extra time it takes them to get there? The answer is not always, at least if you’re a public employer. We’ll focus on a new case addressing this issue and then look at common travel time […]