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Compensation & Benefits

Catholic Healthcare West nurses file wage-and-Hour suit

04/01/2008
Three nurses have filed a complaint in California Superior Court in San Francisco claiming their employer violated wage-and-hour laws and owes them compensation for missed breaks …

Judge overturns Los Angeles labor ordinance

04/01/2008
In a decision some hope will lead to fewer local laws controlling how employers manage their work forces, a California Superior Court judge has struck down a Los Angeles ordinance that made it illegal for large supermarket chains taking over local grocery stores to fire existing employees …

Wage-and-Hour lawsuits against Pilgrim’s Pride consolidated

04/01/2008
Lawsuits filed on behalf of workers at Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plants in North Carolina and 10 other states have been consolidated and moved to a federal court …

The rules for paying for on-Call time

04/01/2008
Q. Our facility supplies support services to local hospitals, providing around-the-clock care on an as-needed basis to repair or service equipment. This does not demand a constant, on-site staffing presence, but it does require us to keep certain employees on call during evening and night-time hours. Are we required to pay them for the time they spend on call? …

USAA’s wellness message resonates with employees

04/01/2008
More than 85% of USAA’s employees have signed up for its wellness program, which focuses on nutrition, exercise, disease prevention and smoking cessation. San Antonio-based USAA also offers employees an annual health risk appraisal and free health screenings …

Plan ahead for this year’s ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work’ Day

04/01/2008

The fourth Thursday of every April is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, so this year it falls on April 24. To head off requests and confusion about whether or when the kids can come, establish some ground rules …

Simple ways to boost employee loyalty

04/01/2008
More cash and benefits are great, but a new book, Empowering Employees, says these four incentives go further to win employees’ hearts …

New state law supports breastfeeding mothers

04/01/2008
Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law a new bill protecting breastfeeding mothers at work. The law, authored by state Sen. Vi Simpson, requires businesses with 25 or more employees to make a reasonable effort to provide a private place for mothers to express breast milk …

New Indiana law means no more crying over expressed milk

04/01/2008
Indiana is about to join 14 other states that already have enacted laws to support breastfeeding women by protecting their right to express milk in the workplace. Starting July 1, 2008, Indiana companies that employ at least 25 workers will be required to provide certain basic facilities for women to express breast milk during the working day …

Starbucks Steamed Over $100M Verdict

03/25/2008
A California Superior Court decision ordering coffee giant Starbucks to pay its baristas $100 million in lost tips has the company in a froth. Trouble has been brewing since it instituted a policy letting supervisors split tip income with hourly workers. You don’t want to find yourself in the same hot water.