Author Archive
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 29
ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCE POLICY
Attendance and absence policies should of course make clear that turning out as scheduled is expected. The care comes in listing excused or authorized absences, including legally-protected sick leave, pregnancy disability leave, on-the-job injuries or illnesses, and, as of January 1, 2023, permitted “emergency condition” absence under California Labor Code section 1139. That law protects covered employees for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace on a reasonable belief of an unsafe “emergency condition” defined…
BOOGIE DOWNER
Misogynistic Music as Workplace Sexual Harassment
Management should put some thought into the content of music transmitted over workspaces. In Sharp v. S&S Activewear, L.L.C. (June 7, 2023), the federal appeals court for the western states drew the line between at least tolerably appropriate and unlawfully offensive.
NO MORE ROOM FOR ZOOM
I-9 Rules Are Tightening July 31, 2023
As the pandemic descended in March 2020, restricting workforce millions to their homes, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended the in-person verification requirement for I-9 supporting documents, permitting remote methods – e.g., email, fax, and video platforms – to show proof of citizenship or other OK-to-work status.
CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGE RATES UPDATE
From January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, California state minimum wage is $15.50 per hour for all employers, regardless of size.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 28
PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS POLICY
Employee evaluations can be an excellent tool for enhancing management-workforce communications if properly conducted by well-written handbook policy.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 68
OLDER WORKERS HAVE RIGHTS – AND EXPERIENCE
In honor of Older Americans Month in May, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows recognized the large numbers of older workers remaining in the workforce and their strong value to employers, including:
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 27
PAID VACATION
BENEFITS POLICY
California employers are not legally required to provide their employees with paid or unpaid vacation time. However, if the employer does provide such benefits, it must comply with certain restrictions under California law.
WORKPLACE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
EEOC Goes Old School
I ponder the term “AI,” aka “artificial intelligence.” From pocket calculators to big-data Google search engines, what is artificial about software that reliably provides shortcuts to ponderous Old School long division or weeks-long research among the library stacks? To call it “automated” is more like it, same acronym in any event.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 67
LANGUAGE LIMITATION LIMITS
Business Necessity Required for English-Only Rules
Washington and Oregon employer R&SL, operating as “TEAM,” has agreed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pay $276,000 to certain employees in settlement of a national origin discrimination and retaliation charge.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 26
HEALTH CARE BENEFITS POLICY
California employers who offer medical, dental, and/or vision insurance should include a handbook policy listing such company-provided benefits.