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Compensation & Benefits

H&R Block settles with California loan officers

04/19/2010
H&R Block will settle a lawsuit brought by former employees who alleged the tax prep company violated federal and California overtime and meal-period regulations.

Kitchen cabinet firm closes door on wage-and-hour suit

04/19/2010
A federal judge in Northern California has granted preliminary approval to a settlement reached between U.S. Remodelers Inc. and 270 current and former workers who sued the company for wage-and-hour violations.

DLSE issues opinion letter on partial-day absences

04/19/2010
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has issued an opinion letter stating that, although employers may not deduct from exempt employees’ salaries for partial-day absences, they may make deductions from employee leave balances in accordance with the employer’s bona fide leave policies.

Stop the state-federal-state litigation merry-go-round

04/19/2010
Just when you think a lawsuit will be resolved, something happens that starts the whole process over again. That’s why it’s so important to prevent lawsuits in the first place.

Tide turns against employees who sue over stock-based retirement funds that lose money

04/19/2010

Lately, employees have been winning when they sue over profit-sharing or retirement plans based on company stock that rapidly lost investment value. In the wake of the Enron bankruptcy scandal, juries sympathized with workers who paid the price for lousy (or illegal) management. Now, employers are gaining the upper hand again, as courts recognize that companies are often in a no-win situation when it comes to providing stock information.

Of driving time and computer connections: 9th Circuit revisits before- and after-work pay

04/19/2010
Last year we told you about a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on whether time employees spend commuting to a remote job site was compensable time. The court ruled that under both California law and the FLSA, driving a company car from an employee’s home to his first job location of the day was not work time but was instead unpaid commuting time. Well, now the same 9th Circuit panel has changed its ruling …

Let employees dress at home to cut FLSA risk

04/19/2010
Here’s a simple risk-reduction measure for employers that require employees to wear a uniform they need to put on before the start of a shift. You can reduce your chances of being on the losing end of a wage-and-hour lawsuit by giving employees the option to suit up at home.

N.C. aims to triple number of nonsmokers

04/16/2010
In an effort to triple the number of workers who quit smoking, the North Carolina state employees’ health plan has added telephone coaching and free nicotine patches to its list of benefits. State Health Director Jeff Engel said the coaching and patches triple a smoker’s chance of quitting, compared with going it alone.

Can we charge worker a fee for lost paychecks?

04/16/2010
Q. One of our employees is constantly misplacing things, like his W-2 forms and his checks. It’s getting annoying. Can we make him pay a fee? We’re thinking this might make him more careful.

Miami-Dade enacts ‘wage theft’ ordinance

04/15/2010

Miami-Dade County employers now have another reason to properly classify employees: On March 1, failure to pay an employee wages he or she is due became “wage theft.” The ordinance is the first of its kind in the nation. According to a county statement, the intent is to allow employees a forum to quickly address pay issues without joining a federal class-action lawsuit.