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Compensation & Benefits

Workers’ comp denials lead to RICO case

04/20/2009

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has given the go-ahead to a RICO lawsuit brought by six truckers against their employer. Traditionally, prosecutors use RICO to combat organized crime. But the truckers allege their employer, Cassens Transport Co., conspired with its claims adjuster and doctors to illegally deny them workers’ compensation benefits.

How does a layoff affect seniority for someone receiving workers’ comp benefits?

04/20/2009

Q. We have an employee who had been performing light-duty work for more than six months. We laid him off based on his seniority. Now he is receiving workers’ compensation benefits again. Our collective-bargaining agreement provides that an employee will lose seniority after being laid off for a year. Does the fact that our employee is receiving workers’ comp benefits have any effect on his seniority rights?

Judicial oracle OKs Delphi’s cuts

04/20/2009

Back in days of yore when Delphi was set free from General Motors, it kept a promise GM had made to salaried white-collar workers: They would have free life and health insurance for the rest of their days. Then the now-bankrupt Delphi moved to discontinue the promised benefits …

College violated law when it withdrew health care option

04/20/2009

The Michigan Court of Appeals has decided Wayne County Community College violated state law when it eliminated the traditional Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan from the list of plans available to college employees.

Train managers on new FMLA regulations

04/20/2009

New FMLA regulations went into effect in January. Now is an excellent time to offer everyone in management a refresher course in what the FMLA requires. If managers remain ignorant of the new rules—or the old ones still in place—you increase the risk that an employee will charge them with willful violations.

Tell supervisors: Enforce attendance rules equally—or prepare for court

04/20/2009

If your organization uses progressive discipline to enforce your attendance policy, caution supervisors against making exceptions for some employees unless it’s clear the absence shouldn’t have been counted against them (for example, the absence was an FMLA-related reason or part of an approved ADA accommodation).

How much FMLA leave for unwed parents?

04/20/2009

Q. We employ the unwed parents of a newborn child. They have requested FMLA leave to care for their child after birth. Both parents are eligible for leave, but we would like to limit their leave to a combined total of 12 weeks during the 12-month leave period. Can two parents of the same newborn be limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA?

Good news: Former employees can’t just keep filing lawsuits

04/17/2009

Here’s some encouraging news for employers. Courts are cracking down on employees who file seemingly never-ending successions of lawsuits. They’re dismissing such suits fast. But a court can do so only if you let it know that the former employee has already filed (and lost or won) a previous round of litigation.

SF Chronicle employees ratify contract concessions

04/17/2009

The California Media Workers Guild has announced that its members voted to accept concessionary amendments to their collective-bargaining contract with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Court of Appeal rules in favor of grocery workers

04/17/2009

A California Court of Appeal has reversed a ruling against grocery store workers represented by the United Food and Commercial workers who were locked out during a 4½-month labor dispute in 2003 and 2004. The dispute stemmed from an effort by approximately 8,000 workers at Albertsons and Ralphs grocery stores to obtain unemployment benefits for the time they were locked out.