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The Golden State is often criticized as being unfriendly to businesses, so it’s reasonable to assume that the state would qualify as employee-friendly. But researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts have come to a surprising conclusion: California ranks in the bottom half of the 50 states in terms of worker-friendliness.
We have two main types of nonemployee workers: temps (who usually work just a few days or weeks) and leased employees (who work basically full time). In both cases, we pay a fee to the agency and the leasing company, and they handle all the employment matters, including hiring, payment, and benefits. My question is […]
Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed A.B. 48, which would have boosted the minimum wage for California workers to $7.75 an hour by July 2007. In a veto message, the governor stated that he supports an increase in the minimum wage–which hasn’t been boosted since 2002–but that he isn’t in favor of legislation, like A.B. 48, that […]
Once we hire an employee, we provide full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage to the employee, spouse, and children. Are we able to request marriage certificates and birth certificates for eligible family members for the purpose of insurance benefits? We have found that employees will often list nonrelatives for insurance benefits (e.g., a boyfriend, […]
According to the results of a new survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, business owners and benefits managers whose companies currently pay for at least some health-insurance benefits expect healthcare costs to jump an additional 12 percent over the next year–and they will ask their employees to pay an average of 21 percent of […]
The California Franchise Tax Board has announced state tax benefits for businesses and employees who aid Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by donating the cash value of employee leave time. The program–which mirrors a similar federal IRS program announced last week–allows workers to donate unused sick, vacation, or other personal leave time in exchange for the […]
As the American workforce ages, the potential for running afoul of age bias laws is increasing for employers. As a result, all employers should consider how they can alter their policies and practices to reduce their risk of getting hit with an age bias suit. One place to begin is to review your hiring practices, […]
Last Friday, Sept. 9, was the last day for the California House and Senate to pass bills. In the last-minute flurry of activity, a number of important employment-related measures made it to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk, and he now has until Oct. 9 to sign or veto the bills. Some of the important workplace measures now […]
Charles Tellis, an Alaska Airlines maintenance mechanic in Seattle, told his supervisor on July 4 that he needed time off because his wife was having difficulties with her pregnancy. His supervisor suggested Tellis contact the benefits department about taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Later that evening, instead of showing up […]
On Jan. 1, 2005, the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act (DPRRA) went into effect, giving registered domestic partners the same rights, duties, benefits, and responsibilities that spouses enjoy under California law. Now, the California Supreme Court, in its first ruling under the DPRRA, has said that the law creates broad responsibilities for businesses […]