Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
More large companies are implementing gay- and lesbian-friendly policies in the workplace, according to a report just released by the Human Rights Campaign. This year, 21 companies, in contrast to 11 last year, received a perfect score on the campaign’s “Corporate Equity Index,” which measures how certain Fortune 500 or Forbes 200 companies treat employees […]
In addition to the workers’ compensation bill discussed in this Bulletin, there are a number of other bills on Gov. Davis’s desk that could impact your employment practices. Here’s a quick summary of what they are: AB 1715 invalidates arbitration agreements affecting employment claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act that are made a […]
Under the federal COBRA law, employees and their dependents who lose health insurance coverage because they’re terminated or for other reasons and who work for employers with 20 or more employees are generally entitled to a temporary extension of healthcare benefits. This typically runs up to 18 months but can be 29 months for certain […]
Several years ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that under the County Employees’ Retirement Law, counties have to include all types of monetary compensation-such as cash payments for bilingual premium pay, a uniform allowance, or cashed-out accrued vacation-when determining the amount on which an employee’s pension will be based.But some plan members took their counties […]
In recent years, pension benefits have come under increased scrutiny amidst allegations that benefits are often miscalculated and thus underpaid.
Over the last several years, many employers have converted their traditional pension plans to cash balance plans. But according to two recent federal court decisions, these cash balance arrangements may violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, (ERISA), the federal law regulating employee benefits.
Many employers lease rather than hire employees to reduce the costs of managing employee payroll and benefits. Leasing firms usually carry workers’ comp insurance on the leased workers, which can save you money and headaches. But as one employer recently found, if you don’t administer your leasing arrangement carefully, you could face expensive legal problems […]
With the economy still slumping, many employers are looking for creative ways to cut costs. You may be tempted to force some of your older employees to retire—but this strategy could land you in an expensive age-bias lawsuit. That’s because, under state and federal law, pushing older workers out the door is OK in only […]
Verizon employee Denise Harris was granted family and medical leave for a bad back. Under the union contract covering Harris’ employment, Verizon paid Harris sick pay benefits during the first part of her leave, but cut off her benefits when she didn’t provide a physician’s report confirming she couldn’t work. Harris sued, claiming the failure […]
A new federal court case involves an all-too-familiar scenario. An employer acquired a new business and had to terminate the old workforce. The employer, however, needed to keep some workers around for a few months, so it offered them a severance deal. But when the employer later tried to change the severance terms, it found […]