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Compensation & Benefits

Mandatory sick leave legislation introduced; HR groups fire back

05/19/2009

Congress is considering legislation that would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide seven days of paid sick leave per employee per year, an expansion of the FMLA that a coalition of HR and business groups immediately decried.

California ranks 47th on business tax index

05/15/2009

California finished better than just three states in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The only ones ranking lower than California: Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

Pregnant employee? Make every effort to accommodate temporary restrictions

05/15/2009

Terminating a pregnant employee because she has minor medical restrictions can be very expensive. The move may mean you have to make the employee financially whole—plus pay a large punitive damage award and attorneys’ fees. Here’s the best way to handle temporary medical restrictions associated with pregnancy:

Law firm WARN Act suit gets class-action status

05/15/2009

A federal judge recently certified two classes of workers in a suit accusing the law firm Thelen, LLP, of firing them without notice. Also certified were three subclasses of workers alleging that the defunct law firm failed to compensate them for vacation time.

What should we do when caregiver leave overlaps with family leave?

05/15/2009

Q. One of our employees recently went on military caregiver leave to take care of her injured husband. She is also expected to give birth in the coming weeks. Is she entitled to 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA in addition to her 26 weeks of caregiver leave?

Judge approves $8 million settlement in UPS case

05/15/2009

A federal judge recently approved an $8 million settlement between UPS and approximately 38,000 current and former California employees. The workers alleged the company failed to provide meal and rest breaks and did not pay terminated employees their wages on a timely basis.

Suing over tip pools may end in California Supreme Court

05/15/2009

Employees who believe their employers may be forcing them to participate in a tip pool and may be diverting part of the tips to owners or managers who aren’t entitled to them may or may not have a right to sue on their own behalf.

Minnesota ranks 49th on business tax index

05/13/2009

Minnesota finished near the bottom in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The only ones ranking lower than Minnesota: New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

Firing Guard or Reserve member? Better show you would have taken action despite service

05/13/2009

Members of the military have greater on-the-job protection than many other employees—including the right to return to their former jobs following a period of active-duty service. They also have the right not to be terminated or otherwise punished for being part of the armed services and taking military leave.

You can discharge if there’s no way to tell when employee will return to work

05/13/2009

Employers don’t have to provide a disabled employee with an indefinite leave of absence when the employee has a medical emergency and doesn’t know how long it will take to return. As long as the employee isn’t covered by the FMLA (in which case, she is entitled to 12 unpaid weeks of leave), you can terminate the employee without violating the ADA.