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California

Farm workers would get OT sooner if bill passes

07/20/2010
A bill that would give California farm workers overtime pay for working fewer hours per week was recently approved in the state Senate. The bill, S.B. 1211, would allow farm workers to receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week, down from the current 60-hour threshold.

Employees can’t just latch onto any bias claim

07/20/2010

Employees who don’t belong to the same protected class as one that is the subject of alleged harassment can’t successfully sue over that harassment except in limited circumstances. Certainly try to stop all harassment based on protected class membership, but don’t worry too much that any employee can sue.

Boss threatens retaliation? You can still save the day

07/20/2010
Employers aren’t allowed to retaliate against employees for participating in another employee’s discrimination case. But sometimes supervisors get frustrated and may threaten some form of retaliation. If that happens and you find out about it, act fast. Make sure the threat is never carried out.

California Supreme Court limits liability for independent contractor’s injuries

07/20/2010
The California Supreme Court has issued a decision in a closely watched construction liability case that involved an independent contractor’s injury. It concluded that true independent contractors working in construction are responsible for making sure the workplace is safe and can’t claim that the hiring contractor or owner was liable for any resulting injuries.

Case settled with EEOC? Don’t cave when employee tries to revive parts of the deal

07/20/2010
When the EEOC decides that a discrimination claim is valid and orders a remedy, that should signal that the case is about to be put to bed. If you pay up what the agency says you owe, the employee can’t turn around and sue for additional money unless he also rejects the rest of the settlement.

Check backgrounds to cut harassment liability

07/20/2010
Employers that do background checks that come back negative should be able to rely on their good-faith efforts to prevent harm to employees and others. After all, employers should only be liable for harm they reasonably could expect would happen.

Quash workplace rumors once and for all

07/20/2010

Sometimes, a workplace rumor takes on a life of its own. And despite denials, it continues to resurface. If that happens in your organization and the rumor affects an employee’s ability to work, she might be able to sue—even if the original rumor started years before. That’s one reason to crack down on rumor mongers.

When employee complains, you must investigate — but you can insist on a civilized complaint

07/01/2010

Sure, everyone knows that employees who make a good-faith complaint alleging some form of discrimination are protected from retaliation. But that doesn’t mean that no one can criticize the employee for making the complaint in a way that’s out of line. If he or she is discourteous, you can and should put an end to the disruptive behavior.

Security check winds up costing Polo $4 million

06/21/2010
Former employees of Polo Ralph Lauren’s California stores have agreed to settle a wage-and-hour class action lawsuit for $4 million. The workers claimed store managers violated California’s labor laws by failing to pay them for time spent while they were locked in the store for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each shift during security checks.

Can we apply a use-it-or-lose-it clause to our company’s vacation policy?

06/18/2010
Q. Our company’s employee handbook states that workers receive two weeks of paid vacation a year. Some of our employees have accrued significant amounts of unused vacation over the years. Can we require those workers to use their accrued vacation by a certain date or forfeit it?