Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employers affiliated with a religion generally aren’t subject to the state Fair Employment and Housing Act, California’s anti-discrimination law. But in a new case, a California Court of Appeal allowed a worker to make an end run around the statute and sue an employer who was exempt from the FEHA for religious discrimination. We’ll explain […]
State and federal courts have grappled for years with the question of whether employers can compel workers to submit their employment disputes to arbitration. Now, in a major victory for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared up the confusion, giving employers the go-ahead to use mandatory arbitration agreements. The high court decision, coupled with […]
After 10 years of debate, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a national ergonomics standard that covered 102 million workers and took effect in January. But the much-criticized rule—which some said would cost businesses more than $100 billion per year—has now been scrapped by Congress, within weeks of President Bush’s taking office. And the […]
Over the last several years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a string of decisions limiting the rights of state employees to sue their state employers for violating federal employment laws. Now a new high court decision continues the trend, ruling that state employees can’t recover damages for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities […]
Have your employees been grumbling about wanting better pay and benefits? If so, you could be headed for a union-organizing drive, and it’s critical that you know what the law allows you to do. A recent case involving an employer that promised better pay and handed out perks to employees on union election day demonstrates […]
Suppose an accommodation you’ve provided for a disabled employee isn’t working out. How far must you go to find a new accommodation? And do you have to consider telecommuting as an alternative? A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision zeroes in on these questions. And we’ll suggest ways to manage the accommodation process to […]
If an employee reports being sexually harassed by a co-worker, you could be on the hook for steep damages if you don’t effectively investigate and remedy the problem. You may be tempted to take drastic disciplinary measures against the harasser to ensure that you’ve met your legal obligations. But according to a new Ninth Circuit […]
A recent case provides a dramatic example of how great the financial incentive can be for employees to blow the whistle on their employer. Donald McLendon, a former health care executive, will receive over $34 million for giving the government information about unlawful billing and fraud by his former employer Olsten Corp. and hospital giant […]
With the economic slowdown, if you’re tempted to ask employees to take time off to cut costs and avoid layoffs, you probably won’t have legal problems with nonexempt, nonunion employees, but use caution when it comes to exempt workers. Under the wage and hour laws, you can’t dock the pay of exempt employees, because they […]
Several large employers have recently run into expensive problems over the practice of handing out assistant manager titles, allegedly to avoid paying overtime to employees who perform largely the same work as nonexempt personnel. Workers are calling such tactics unfair labor practices and are suing for back overtime pay and damages. Two such cases are […]