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Employment Law

Want to cut overtime pay? It’s OK to alter workweek–as long as change is permanent

01/24/2013
Good news for cost-conscious employers: As a federal court ruled recently, employers are free to change how they designate the workweek as long as they do so “permanently”—even if the sole reason is to reduce overtime pay.

Why bother with job descriptions? 3 reasons

01/22/2013
Writing job descriptions for all of the positions in your company may sound like a lot of work, especially when they are not required by any law. But there are plenty of legal reasons why you should have them.

Only employee–not his spouse–can sue for disability discrimination

01/22/2013
Only disabled individuals have the right to sue their employers for disability discrimination. A spouse or other family member, even if harmed by an employer’s discrimination, can’t bring his or her own claim.

Appeals court decision shows perils of pregnancy bias lawsuits

01/22/2013
A recent decision by the California Court of Appeal illustrates just how complicated and costly it can be to discipline an employee who is on protected leave.

San Francisco grocer held too much green

01/22/2013
The San Francisco grocery store chain Casa Guadalupe and its owner have agreed to pay more than $120,000 to settle a wage-and-hour lawsuit filed by the DOL. The owner admitted to investigators that he willfully failed to issue time-and-a-half overtime pay to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a week.

New pregnancy protections ring in the New Year in California

01/22/2013

California employees now enjoy ex­panded pregnancy rights after new Fair Employment and Housing Commission regulations took effect Dec. 30, 2012. The regulations bar employers from discriminating against employees for virtually any pregnancy-related condition.

Employee acts as own lawyer? Consider cutting your losses

01/22/2013
Judges tend to bend over backward to help so-called pro se litigants—individuals who decide to represent themselves in court. Sometimes, an employer’s best bet is to settle for a small amount—or urge the former employee to find an attorney.

Temp’s contract expired? He can still sue you

01/22/2013
Temporary workers can still sue even if they no longer work for you because their contracts expired and weren’t renewed.

Document why you require bilingual skills

01/22/2013
Many organizations serve customers who speak a language other than English, and require em­ployees to have specific bilingual skills. If that describes your organization, make sure you can defend the language requirement if you’re sued.

Pay lawsuits: Keep time records on your side

01/22/2013

While the FLSA requires you to have a reliable system to accurately track employees’ hours and pay, the regulations don’t say which types of timekeeping methods you should use—paper, time clock, etc. Any timekeeping plan is acceptable, the rules say, “as long as it is complete and accurate.” But it’s vital to know exactly what data to track.