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California

Schwarzenegger vetoes applicant credit report ban

10/15/2010
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed A.B. 482, a bill that would have prevented employers from using consumer credit reports when performing background checks on employees and applicants.

Meal break rule doesn’t apply to public employees

10/15/2010
California Labor Code provisions specifying when and where employees should take their meals don’t apply to public employees, only to private-sector employees.

Sending Form 1099 to IRS doesn’t amount to retaliation

10/15/2010

Sometimes, settling a discrimination complaint may mean paying the employee several thousand dollars. That payment may or may not be taxable. Employers often send a 1099 miscellaneous income form to the IRS. Some employees think this is a deliberate effort to alert the IRS to their miscellaneous income and amounts to retaliation. Courts disagree.

‘Service charge’ or tip? Pay attention to local laws in addition to state and federal regs

10/15/2010

California employers may incorrectly assume that if they abide by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the California Labor Code, they have met their obligations to workers. That may not be true. Local municipalities can also regulate some aspects of wage-and-hour laws.

When class-action wage lawsuit looms, handle employee ‘opt-out’ phase with care

10/15/2010

Employees who think they have been misclassified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code may sue on behalf of themselves and all similarly situated current and former employees. Generally, if the case is approved as a class-action lawsuit, those current and former employees will get a chance to opt into the lawsuit for the FLSA claims and opt out of the state case. How employers react can affect how the court handles the opt-out process.

Ignore female-on-male harassment at your peril

10/15/2010

Most often, sexual harassment involves a man’s inappropriate behavior directed toward a woman. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore female-on-male harassment. Simply put, both sexes are entitled to a workplace free of sexual harassment—and employers are obligated to stop such harassment when they find out about it.

Employee became disabled? Adjust expectations

10/15/2010

If a good employee has a sudden medical emergency and returns to work with lingering physical challenges, take his reintegration slowly and with compassion. Now is not the time to push him to perform exactly as he did before he became disabled. Otherwise, you may end up with a disability discrimination lawsuit on your hands.

Strike 3 for bill banning applicant credit checks?

09/23/2010

The California State Senate and State Assembly have approved a bill that would restrict the use of credit reports by employers that conduct background checks on job applicants and employees. But enactment isn’t a sure thing, based on the recent history of similar legislation.

After brief FMLA leave, can we request a second opinion to make sure worker is ready to return?

09/22/2010
Q. We have an employee returning from a leave taken under the federal FMLA and the California Family Rights Act. His physician has issued a fitness-for-duty certificate. However, we have doubts about the worker’s ability to perform his job … Can we send him to another physician for a second fitness-for-duty examination?

If a resigning employee gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him not to bother coming in anymore?

09/22/2010
Q. If an employee resigns and gives two weeks’ notice, can we tell him he isn’t needed for the two weeks and avoid paying him for that time?