Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
New Department of Labor regulations on health benefit claims and appeals procedures reduce the time allowed for processing claims and reviewing claim denials. The rules apply to claims filed on or after Jan. 1, 2002, under all ERISA-governed health plans including employer-provided health programs such as dental and vision coverage, disability plans and HMOs.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stepped in to file a lawsuit accusing Catholic Charities of firing an African-American case manager after he complained about racially offensive treatment. Keith Bogard claimed that because of his race he was given undesirable assignments at a Catholic Charities group home in San Francisco. He also charged that staff […]
It’s not uncommon for employers to offer older workers early retirement or severance benefits in exchange for having them waive potential age-bias claims they might have under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). But employees sometimes have second thoughts—after they have accepted the benefits. Now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued new […]
Many employers make it a practice to periodically update their employee manuals and policies. But where do you stand if an employee objects to a new policy? In a recent case, a California Court of Appeal rejected a worker’s attempt to challenge a provision that was added to an employee handbook. More importantly, the court […]
A recent California Court of Appeal ruling involving an employee who agreed to undergo random drug testing places new restrictions on when you can administer drug tests. Random Drug Test Conducted On Employee’s Day Off Perrin Edgerton, a Caltrans equipment operator in the Redding area, failed a random drug test that came up positive for […]
A federal appeals court is currently considering challenges to San Francisco’s cutting-edge domestic partner ordinance. The law requires that companies who dobusiness with the city provide unmarried employees who have domestic partners the same benefits as married workers. An airline trade association succeeded in invalidating the provisions of the law covering health and welfare benefits. […]
Employees in private industry have long been entitled to look at their personnel records. Now the governor has signed a new law that extends this right to many public employees and clarifies the inspection rules for workers in both the public and private sectors.
Some employees have tried to get around their at-will status by claiming long service and repeated promotions created an implied agreement that they would only be terminated for good cause. Now the California Supreme Court has made clear that this argument won’t fly. However, the court left the door open for a person’s at-will employment […]
A recent case illustrates that sexual harassment claims can encompass actions other than traditional sexually oriented conduct. A 15-year-old student who was hired to answer the telephone at a nonprofit agency in the San Francisco area will receive $750,000 in a confidential settlement of his claim that a supervisor harassed him through aggressive “roughhousing” and […]
John Liotine, the mechanic who first alerted authorities to potential problems at Alaska Airlines’ Oakland maintenance facility, has now filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against the company. Liotine charged that information on the airline’s Web site suggested he was incompetent and he had accused his supervisors of misconduct because they passed him over for […]