Hiring Summer Interns And Volunteers: It’s More Complicated Than You Might Think
Now that summer is nearly upon us, you may have students looking for hands-on work experience contacting you, offering to work as unpaid volunteers or interns.
Tag: California Labor Commissioner
Reimbursements: Can You Give Us Some Help on Employee Expense Reimbursements?
We’re trying to revise our travel reimbursement policies, and we need some help. We’re trying to simplify. Can we pay a per diem? Meanwhile, we’d rather just pay employees a set amount more in salary and not hassle at all with receipts and vouchers for every little thing. I understand that there’s a case now […]
Leave Banks: Can We Deduct Partial-Day Absences from Exempt Employees’ Leave Banks?
We seem to have come across a conflict related to exempt employee leave banks. We want to deduct from our exempt employees’ leave banks for partial-day absences. We understand that the California Labor Commissioner has indicated that accrued leave time may not be used to replace salary for partial-day absences. However, I see that a […]
Wage and Hour: Must We Pay Employees for Voluntary Off-Duty Development Activities?
I have a question about determining the exempt or nonexempt status of our lowest-level managers. We think they are exempt, but we’ve read about some pretty expensive lawsuits and want to avoid that. We classify these employees as exempt, and they seem happy enough with that designation. Most of them are eager to move up […]
Overtime and Long Shifts: Can 12-Hour Shifts Be Implemented Without Overtime?
I’d like to move my employees from a 5-day week to a 3- or 31/2-day week—that is, change over to 12-hour shifts from 8-hour shifts. Is there a way to do this without paying overtime? And is there any downside? — Alan, HR manager in San Diego
Employee Leave: Crime Victims and Their Families Get New Leave Rights on January 1
A new law permits employees who are the victims of serious crimes and relatives and domestic partners of crime victims to take unpaid leave from work to attend legal proceedings. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2004.
Avoiding Retaliation Lawsuits: Jury Awards $2.7 Million To Salesman Who Was Fired After Filing Labor Commissioner Pay Claim
Mark Ramijak worked as an account executive for FileNet Corp. in Costa Mesa, a company that sells and services document management software. He claimed that FileNet owed him about $200,000 in commissions and bonus payments from sales he had made of software and maintenance service contracts—and he eventually took his pay gripe to the California […]
Exempt Employees: Labor Commissioner Won’t Follow Federal Docking Rules, Issues Strict New California Standard
Under federal wage and hour law, employees must be paid a predetermined salary to qualify as exempt from overtime. And there are strict guidelines on when salary docking can jeopardize exempt status. When overhauling state wage and hour laws in 2000 with the passage of A.B. 60, California for the first time adopted similar salary […]
Hiring Summer Interns And Volunteers: It’s More Complicated Than Most Employers Think; How To Keep From Getting Burned
Now that summer is here, students are looking for hands-on work experience and are often willing to work as a volunteer or intern for no pay. But many employers are not up to speed on the strict state and federal guidelines regarding who is legally considered an employee entitled to be paid at least minimum […]
Sexual Orientation Claims: Gay Worker Charges He Was Forced To Quit; How To Keep Harassment Problems From Mushrooming
You may think an employee who hands in their resignation can’t hold you legally responsible for their decision to quit. But a worker who claims their working conditions were intolerable can try to turn a resignation into a lawsuit for “constructive discharge.” As a new ruling involving sexual orientation bias demonstrates, you can avoid being […]