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Compensation & Benefits

NUMMI pays $6 million to settle plant-closing suit

09/20/2011
The EEOC and the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) have settled claims that the company denied benefits and locked out disabled workers before a plant shutdown in Fremont.

Year-end payroll planning: 10 steps to ease the crunch

09/19/2011
Year-end can be a hectic time for HR and payroll professionals. Accom­­plish these year-end tasks now, and the last few months of 2011 will run much more smoothly.

Must we grant time off for rehab?

09/16/2011
Q. An employee recently confided to us that he has a drug problem and would like to take several weeks off to check into a rehabilitation program. May we deny his request?

What kind of time off must we grant for employees to attend school-related activities?

09/16/2011
Q. With the new school year under way, can you ­give me a rundown on the rules governing our obligation to grant workers time off to participate in their children’s school-­related activities?

It follows California contract law: Employees have 4 years to sue for ERISA benefits

09/16/2011
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that former employees who believe they are missing out on ERISA-protected benefits have four years to sue for those benefits after their request is formally denied.

Understand CFRA leave limits: Employees’ reinstatement rights last just 12 weeks

09/16/2011
The Court of Appeal of California has clarified that employees taking California Family Rights Act leave are entitled to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent job only if they return at the end of their 12 weeks of leave or earlier. They can’t take additional non-CFRA leave to ex­­­tend their return rights.

How can we recoup stolen money?

09/16/2011
Q. We just fired an employee after discovering that he stole $5,000 from the company. Do we have to pay the employee his final paycheck or can we apply that paycheck toward the $5,000 he owes us?

Electrolux redux: Ramadan schedules still in dispute

09/16/2011
Last year, Electrolux agreed to adjust its break schedule to accommodate Muslim employees working the evening shift at its St. Cloud plant. The EEOC mediated last year’s agreement in a process that was hailed as a model of cooperation between the employer, employees and the federal government. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Lying may mean no unemployment compensation

09/16/2011
Employees who lie when confronted about wrongdoing are ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits—at least if the lie concerned something about which the employer could reasonably expect the truth.

Consult your attorney for expert assistance on workers’ compensation disputes

09/16/2011

Employees who receive workers’ compensation payments for on-the-job injuries are assumed to have retired when they hit age 67. But a recent lawsuit argued that workers’ comp payments had to continue past that cutoff age because an employer had negotiated a legal settlement that didn’t specify that the payments would end at age 67. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of Minnesota has ruled otherwise.