05/18/2012
Q. Our offices were closed due to a phoned-in bomb threat. As a result, we were forced to send home all our employees. Do we need to pay employees for showing up to work that day?
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05/18/2012
Q. We are considering replacing sick leave and vacation benefits with a paid time off (PTO) program. How are these plans treated upon the termination or resignation of an employee?
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05/18/2012
In April, the California Supreme Court finally issued its opinion in Brinker v. Superior Court. In a major victory for California employers, the court issued clear rules on how and when employee meal and rest periods must be provided.
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05/18/2012
In a case that tested the limits of an employer’s attendance policy, a nurse who had requested an accommodation that would have excused her from her employer’s five unplanned absences limit has lost her appeal and won’t have her case reinstated. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of the nurse’s lawsuit.
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05/18/2012
A state Court of Appeals has ruled that Cal/OSHA does not have to produce 2,200 files covering several years in a lawsuit over enforcement of California’s regulations designed to safeguard workers from work-related heat illness.
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05/18/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced in April that it’s cracking down on alleged restaurant-industry violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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05/18/2012
On April 26, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill denying state construction funds to cities that have ordinances that restrict the use of project labor agreements (PLAs).
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05/18/2012
If you’re wondering how the number (and type) of employee discrimination charges in your state compares to the rest of the country, you can now analyze those statistics for the first time in a new database made public this week by the EEOC.
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05/18/2012
The DOL recently gave the nod to national enforcement of regulations specifying that employees’ tips are their sole property, regardless of whether employers take the tip credit. This should serve as a timely reminder, since many teens and college students regularly earn tips during the summer.
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05/18/2012
Employees of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services are tapping their inner art critics to better understand their co-workers. In partnership with the Detroit Institute of Arts, the company is exposing workers to the work of artistic masters in a setting where they can express their views on the artwork—and learn about their colleagues.
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05/17/2012
Even if they’ve been diligently socking away money in their 401(k) plans, employees who are about to retire are no doubt nervous about their financial futures. The nagging question: With retirees living longer, will their retirement savings last as long as they do? Believe it or not, the IRS wants to help.
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05/17/2012
Q. How much time must our company allow an employee to review a severance package before accepting or rejecting the release agreement?
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05/16/2012
Q. We’ve heard in the news about the recently enacted Indiana right-to-work law. Could it have an effect on Illinois employers?
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05/16/2012
OSHA has cited Steeleville-based Gilster-Mary Lee Corp. for safety violations after a dust explosion severely burned two employees.
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05/16/2012
Back in 2000, the 7th Circuit held that employers are not required to reassign disabled employees to a vacant position for which they are qualified. Although the EEOC recently challenged this position in EEOC v. United Airlines, Inc., the 7th Circuit held its ground, reaffirming its previous decision.
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