Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
New hurdles in defending against pay-bias lawsuits may be coming soon to a workplace near you. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed two pay discrimination bills—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12). Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is expected to introduce companion legislation in the […]
You’ve undoubtedly seen it in the news: Last week, Jing Hua Wu, a Santa Clara engineer, shot and killed three people at work—the company’s head of HR, the VP of operations, and the chief executive—after being let go.
Breaking News: President Bush Signs ADA Amendments Act Yesterday, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. For more details on the new law, click here. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2009. Get ready to comply–attend our audio conference on the new law on Oct. 8.
As gasoline prices soar into the stratosphere, millions of Americans are wondering how they can alter their commutes to work in hopes of driving less and lowering their cost of living. Employers can do their part to help employees beat the rising costs of commuting—and help the nation conserve natural resources—and many businesses are already […]
Want to make sure your business has a happy wage and hour new year? Do a quick review to check that your organization is complying with California wage and hour changes for 2008.
While California law generally requires employers to pay overtime when employees work over eight hours in a day or 40 in a week, certain executive, administrative, and professional employees are exempt from this requirement if they meet three conditions: 1) the employee is paid on a salary basis; 2) the employee earns a certain minimum […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will pay over $33 million in back wages to resolve errors in calculating overtime for 86,680 employees nationwide. According to the DOL, Wal-Mart brought the problem to the agency’s attention after an internal audit raised concerns regarding overtime computations, particularly with respect to incentives […]
Siebel Systems Inc. has agreed to shell out up to $27.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit charging that the company violated the California Labor Code and Wage Orders by classifying software engineers as exempt from overtime and failing to pay for overtime hours worked. The suit also alleged that the company illegally prohibited […]
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has ruled that insurance adjusters for Farmers Insurance Exchange qualified for the administrative exemption from overtime, according to the standards under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In so ruling, the appeals court threw out a $52.5 million judgment awarded by a federal trial court […]
A federal jury in Baltimore has socked Federal Express Corporation with a $108,000 verdict for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide a deaf employee with a reasonable accommodation.