Blog
WHEN IT’S TIME TO CONTACT AN EMPLOYMENT LAWYER
Knowing When to Call for Reinforcements There’s a saying that no-one likes lawyers … until you need one. While experienced and knowledgeable managers are usually capable of handling basic employment issues, there are pitfalls in the more complex or high stakes situations for which consultation with an employment and labor lawyer is probably a good […]
DON’T BE HAUNTED BY YOUR OFFICE HALLOWEEN PARTY
Halloween looms. An office party for the occasion may be a great way to boost employee morale. However, as with holiday parties, a killer get-together can have frightening results if not planned properly. Here are some guidelines to ensure your Halloween party doesn’t come back to haunt you: Suggest “work-appropriate” costumes: Surely more than a […]
ADDED NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR CALIFORNIA EMPLOYERS
Specific Written Disclosures to New Hires Effective January 1, 2012, California Assembly Bill AB 469 will require private employers to distribute a document “in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information” to all hourly employees at the time of their hire. The written notice must include: The rate or rates of pay […]
EXPANDED PREGNANCY HEALTH BENEFITS LAW FOR MOST CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEES
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Senate Bill 299 into law extending health insurance coverage benefits for employees out on pregnancy disability leave, effective January 1, 2012. As covered in “Pregnancy Disability Leave,” California employers with five or more persons on payroll (whether full- or part-time) must provide any female employee up to four months […]
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND EMPLOYEES
Avoiding Misclassification of Hired Workers in California For possible cost savings and ease in administration, businesses are sometimes tempted to classify people working regularly as “independent contractors” instead of “employee.” In California, as in other states, independent contractors are usually not entitled to most of the benefits that employer must provide employees, including minimum wage, […]
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS TO ORGANIZE A UNION
New NLRB Poster Will Now Be Required for Many Employers on January 31, 2012 The federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) guarantees the right of employees to organize unions to “bargain collectively” with their employees. With a few exceptions, employers will soon have to conspicuously display the agency’s “Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations […]
IMMIGRATION LAW REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS
Federal law requires every employer hiring any individual in the United States to verify the prospect’s identity and employment authorization through completion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. An employer must complete an I-9 form for every person hired, even if there’s just one employee in the business. It is improper for a company to […]
BREAKING OUT OF OFFICE ROUTINES
Enhancing Employee Morale and Productivity with Workforce Competitions In the never-ending quest to promote worker morale on the job, employers are offering an expanding range of clearly creative outlets and opportunities to escape workplace stresses. A search around the web will reveal, for example: Inter-office Chess Competition: this U.K. insurance company holds seasonal team battles […]
CONSTRUCTIVE DISCHARGE
When Employers May be Liable for “Causing” a Resignation As an employer, you might assume the company is immune from any wrongful termination claim if an employee quits on his or her own accord. However, a worker may still prove a business is responsible for wrongful “constructive discharge” even when he or she has deliberately […]
TATTOOS AND BODY PIERCINGS IN THE WORKPLACE
Employers’ Right-to-Appearance Policies Whether an employee’s visible tattoo or body piercing stems from a claimed sense of aesthetics, rebellion or “it seemed like a good idea at the time,” business has discretion to regulate appearance and thus may usually decline to hire, fail to promote or terminate that person on that basis alone. As long […]