Archive for the ‘Employee vs. Independent Contractor Status’ Category
BEING UNEMPLOYED JUST GOT HARDER
EEOC Investigates Discrimination Against the Unemployed A recent trend in on-line job ads has caught the attention of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). That agency is holding hearings at their Washington D.C. headquarters today on why some businesses are choosing to exclude the unemployed from consideration for job openings. Lines like “must be […]
CARING FOR CAREGIVERS
Hiring Help the Right Way Families can sometimes have some very expensive misconceptions about California’s rules for hiring a private, live-in caregiver. For starters, it is never a good idea to have verbal “handshake” agreement to compensate through a combination of money, housing and/or meals. Common mistakes include: Presuming the caregiver fits the California definition […]
OH NO YOU DIDN’T!
Wrongful Termination of At-Will Employees Theory is one thing, practice another. In theory, “at-will” employment means neither employer nor employee are obligated to continue the relationship for any period of time. Either may terminate for any reason or for no reason at all, with or without advance notice. In practice, some company executives and personnel […]
AN EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO NEW 2011 LAWS PART III
New Requirements for Unpaid Internship Programs Internship programs can promote a business or industry to ambitious students looking for experience and items on their resumés. However, a company must comply with several rules in order to exempt such interns from minimum wage laws. An April, 2010 opinion letter from the California Division of Labor Standards […]
AN EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO NEW 2011 LAWS PART II
Mandatory Paid Leave for Organ and Bone Marrow Donors For some time now, state employees have been given paid time off for organ and bone marrow donations by law. Beginning in 2011, this is now mandatory for private employees as well. Effective immediately, employers with 15 or more employees must provide paid leave to employees […]
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES ARE PEOPLE TOO
Shorter Schedules Do Not Equal Shorter Legal Requirements Whether your business is expanding or you are circling the wagons to weather an economic downturn, hiring part-time employees may be part of the game plan. However, hiring for shortened hours or for fewer days does not absolve an employer from complying with the full range of […]
DON’T KILL AT WILL EMPLOYMENT
Maximize Ability to Manage by Written At Will Employment Agreements “At will” means either employer or employee can terminate or quit the relationship at any time, with or without notice and with or without a reason. That’s usually a good thing for an employer since it maximizes the company’s ability to make employment decisions. The […]
THE CALIFORNIA COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL EXEMPTION
The California Computer Professional Exemption Under California law and Wage Orders, a “computer professional” is exempt from overtime compensation if he or she is “highly skilled and is proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, or software engineering.” In addition, he or she must be primarily […]