Top 10 Employee Handbook Mistakes
Done right, employee handbooks serve multiple functions. They provide employees with important information about a company, its practices and the working environment. They also help protect employers legally by setting clear expectations and standards that employees must comply with. But done wrong, employee handbooks can do more harm than good. Policies that are too specific and … Read more
Fired Cancer Patient Gets $846,300 Award
California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing recently announced an administrative award of $846,300 to a man fired because he had cancer. This is the agency’s largest ever award. The sales manager was fired because his employer claimed that he wasn’t spending enough time on sales travel during the same time frame that he was … Read more
Five Key Labor And Employment Issues Hospitality Employers Need To Be Aware Of This Quarter
1. Federal Court Says “Aloha” to Hotel Service Charge Practices in Hawaii 2. OSHA Spotlight: OSHA Hitting Hard on “Repeat” Penalties at National Chains, and Ergonomics (Housekeepers, etc.) Are Back in Play 3. ADA Title III News: Boston Area Hotels Under Investigation; March 15, 2012 Deadline For Compliance With Revised ADA Accessibility Standards Nears; The … Read more
NLRB Judge Finds Firings Based on Facebook Posting Unlawful
HRWatchdog has frequently blogged on the increased activity by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as it relates to employer discipline for social media postings made by employees. In the past year, the NLRB has seen an increase in the number of charges related to social media and has filed several complaints against employers who discharged … Read more
You say sabbatical, I say vacation
With profuse apologies to the Gershwins. This post is not about show tunes. It’s about a new case from the California court of appeal, which offers good insight on how courts out here view vacation and related matters. In Paton v. Advanced Micro Devices, the court faced the question whether a promised company sabbatical (remember … Read more
IRS Provides Updated Guidance on the Use of Employer-Provided Cell Phones
On September 14, 2011, the IRS issued updated guidance(pdf) on the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones, effectively treating both business and personal use of such phones as exempt from an employee’s wages. The Small Business Jobs Act removed cell phones from the definition of “listed property” beginning January 1, 2010, meaning they no longer … Read more
California Courts Clarify Employees’ Reinstatement Rights Under CFRA
In the recently decided case of Rogers v. County of Los Angeles, the California Court of Appeal issued an opinion favorable to employers regarding family/medical leave under the California Family Rights Act of 1993 (“CFRA”). CFRA, codified at California Government Code § 12945.2, expressly allows an employee to take up to a total of 12 … Read more
Court Ruling on Cost-of-Living Adjustments Is Workers’ Comp Victory for Employers
California employers and insurers scored a victory in a recent California Supreme Court decision on annual cost-of-living adjustments for certain workers’ compensation claimants. In the case of Christine Baker v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and X.S., the court looked at how the Legislature intended cost-of-living adjustments to be calculated for total permanent disability and life … Read more
Congress Considers Legislation That Would Create a New Protected Class Under Title VII
During an address to Congress on September 8, 2011, President Obama presented the American Jobs Act, which includes the Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 (the “Act”). The proposed Act, also entitled “Prohibition of Discrimination in Employment on the Basis of an Individual’s Status as Unemployed,” aims to prohibit employers and employment agencies from discriminating … Read more
How Companies Can Comply with Recent Human Trafficking Laws – Five Necessary Disclosures
Under the new California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, beginning January 1, 2012, retail sellers and manufacturers conducting business in California with over $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts will be required to disclose what efforts, if any, are being made by the company to address and eliminate slave labor and human … Read more
