Anti-Harassment Agency Randomly Surveys California Employers On April 10, 2018, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (The Task Force) announced that it will telephonically interview randomly-selected California employers on their anti-harassment policies including employer-sponsored training and other anti-harassment complaint procedures. Formed in […]
Firing Low-Performing Workers While Limiting Repercussions Mary manages a customer service department in a large company. Other employees and customers have complained about Brad, one of the employees Mary supervises. Most of Brad’s co-workers handle calls without requiring assistance. Yet, for a few months now, as many as 20% of Brad’s calls have had to […]
“Non-binary” will Join “He” and “She” in California California law prohibits discrimination against employees for their membership in any protected class. This includes gender identity, defined as “each person’s internal understanding of their gender, or the perception of a person’s gender identity, which may include male, female, a combination of male and female, neither male […]
CareerBuilder Publishes Annual Survey and List of Most Bizarre Hiring Interviews According to a nationwide CareerBuilder Survey released February 22, 2018, “around half of employers (49 percent) know within the first five minutes of an interview if a candidate is a good or bad fit for a position, and only 8 percent make up their […]
Department of Labor Has Launched Program For Voluntary Correction of Payroll Errors Last week’s blog, Safe Harbor or Shipwreck?, detailed the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) imminent PAID program (Payroll Audit Independent Determination). The program permits employers to audit their own records for wage compliance violations and to correct those violations in cooperation with the […]
New U.S. Department of Labor Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) Program to Voluntarily Address Payroll Errors The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the imminent launch of the PAID program – Payroll Audit Independent Determination. The program’s intent is to permit employers to self-audit and correct as appropriate their minimum wage and overtime practices, […]
California Supreme Court Sets Out New Formula for Overtime When “Flat Sum” Bonuses Paid Often California employers reward employees with bonuses without realizing the proper way to calculate overtime when doing so. This can put an employer at substantial risk if miscalculated over significant time for a large number of workers. Depending on the number […]
Employer Must Properly Address Faith-Based Protest Employers must correctly field and handle an employee’s religiously-based objection to a workplace requirement, even when the employer’s requirement is mandated by law. For example, in Kaite v. Altoona Student Transportation, Inc., plaintiff worked as a Pennsylvania school bus driver for employer Altoona Student Transportation (AST). AST began implementing […]
BUSTED Adult Care Facilities Must Pay Minimum Wage and Overtime or Face Expensive Consequences California’s Labor Commissioner continues her pursuit of businesses that fail to comply with wage and hour laws. In a January 9, 2018 News Release, she announced citations of $7,137,036 against Adat Shalom Board & Care, Inc., which operates six residential board […]
California Employers May Maintain Drug-Free and Alcohol-Free Policies Effective January 1, 2018, California’s “Adult Use of Marijuana Act” (AUMA) (California Health and Safety Code [HSC] sections 11357-11362.9) permits adults 21 years of age or older to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes. Fortunately, AUMA does not alter the rights of California employers to maintain […]