Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s obvious you have to pay employees for all the hours they spend doing their job. But violations of this rule by employers are common, and they can be very expensive. A few years back, for example, Nordstrom had to set aside millions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit charging numerous “off-the-clock” violations. […]
You must inform Cal/OSHA if an employee dies or suffers a serious injury at work. Now, the time for reporting these incidents has been shortened. But, in some situations you should get legal advice before you call the agency.
In April, we reported how a savvy employer successfully defended itself against a wrongful termination claim by conducting a thorough investigation and review of the facts before making the decision to terminate. This month, we look at a case in which an employer had ample opportunities to protect an employee from harassment but didn’t-because […]
Your obligation to accommodate disabled workers may be much broader than you think. According to a new California Court of Appeal ruling, if one of your employees becomes disabled and can’t perform their job, you must suggest possible reasonable accommodations-even if the employee doesn’t ask for your assistance. What’s more, you might be required to […]
Major changes are in the pipeline that could dramatically alter how California works. First, in a historic development, daily overtime for most workers may be eliminated. And other proposals are under consideration on such important issues as comp time, alternative workweeks and family leave. Here are the details, along with how they might affect you.
Auto parts manufacturer Kelsey-Hayes Co. gave employees a summary plan description of their employee benefits plan stating that health insurance would continue at no cost when they retired. The summary didn’t mention the company had the right to modify or terminate benefits, even though the master health care plan paperwork did. Later, when Kelsey-Hayes informed […]
Revised workplace ergonomics rules may be adopted as early as the April 17, 1997 meeting of the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. We reported in February that California’s ergonomics rules had to be scrapped and rewritten to be less confusing. The reworded regulations have now been prepared. They aim to clarify these main […]
A woman was convicted by a criminal court of creating a phony e-mail message to buttress her sexual harassment case. Adelyn Lee, a former employee of Redwood City-based Oracle Corp., claimed CEO Larry Ellison ordered her termination after she refused to have sex with him on what turned out to be their last date. Lee […]
Governor Wilson has introduced legislation to reform California’s wrongful termination laws. If passed, the measure would put an end to court cases that have allowed employees to sue on the ground that the employer’s actions or practices created a promise-though not in writing-that the person could only be fired for good cause. For example, employees […]
Has an employee ever complained about offensive conduct by a salesperson, customer or vendor? If that behavior veers toward sexual harassment, you may have to step in and stop it. But how you handle the situation may make the difference between resolving the problem, losing a good customer, or worse-being sued.