Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone A truck driver sued his employers alleging wage and hour violations. The trial court refused to certify the lawsuit as a class action but failed to provide a reason for its decision. The California Court of Appeal sent the case back to the trial court because it could not […]
As most employers in California already know, the Healthy Workplaces/Healthy Families Act of 2014 allows employees to take up to 3 days of paid sick leave each year, beginning July 1, 2015. Although employees can’t begin using paid sick leave until July, the notice and posting provisions of the law are effective January 1, 2015 and the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued a new poster summarizing employee’s rights under the new law, along with an updated “Notice to Employee” required under Labor Code section 2810.5.
Under the Labor Code, an injured employee is entitled to workers’ comp when he or she sustains an injury or illness while acting within the course of his or her employment, or while performing service incidental to his or her employment.
Keeping accurate personnel records for every employee can be a burdensome task; there are varying legal requirements in terms of what must be kept and also how long it must be kept. How do you keep it all straight?
Yesterday, we looked at some of the rules for workers’ comp claims brought by former employees. Today, 4 tips for successfully handling these types of claims—plus a valuable workers’ comp desk reference specifically for California employers like you.
A California court of appeals has ruled that an employee cannot recover punitive damages for the employer’s violations of state Labor Code provisions governing meal and rest breaks, pay stubs, and minimum wages.1 That’s because those Labor Code provisions include specific remedies, including penalties that are punitive in nature—and those are the only remedies available. […]
The California Supreme Court has granted review of the recent Brinker Restaurant Corp. decision. In that case, a California appeals court ruled, among other things, that an employer’s obligation to “provide” meal and rest breaks means that the employer must make the break available and not impede, discourage, or dissuade employees from taking it. Employers, […]
The California legislative session is now over, and while many workplace-related bills were approved by the state Senate and Assembly, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed all but a handful of them. In fact, the governor vetoed 35 percent—a record—of all bills sent to him, following the historic 85-day delay in passing a state budget and the governor’s […]
Our subscribers often ask us if they can split up an employee’s meal break. For example, if an employee has a meeting or training session that interferes with the 30-minute lunch break, can you as an employer have the person take 15 minutes after five hours worked, and then take the other 15 minutes later […]
In the March 2008 issue of CWHA, we reported that a California appeals court upheld an employee stock purchase plan that provided for the forfeiture of stock if the employee terminated before two years from the date the stock was acquired. Even though the stock was bought using employee compensation, the appeals court ruled that […]