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California

Make sure everyone knows to process legal docs ASAP

04/01/2008
Nothing will get an organization in hot water faster than ignoring legal paperwork. Missed deadlines may mean a default judgment, with the tardy employer missing any chance to defend itself in court. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to have a clear process for handling any incoming legal documents …

Degree of control changes status from contractor to employee

04/01/2008
More and more courts are ignoring the labels companies and independent contractors put on their relationships—and even rewriting the relationship in some cases. That means that someone an organization has carried on the books as an independent contractor can be reclassified as an employee …

Use ‘Soft’ criteria for staffing decisions? Be prepared to back up rationale

04/01/2008
Some jobs require a set of objective or “hard” skills, plus subjective or “soft” skills. As long as an employer can clearly articulate what soft skills an applicant or employee lacks, it can use the subjective reasons when making selection or retention decisions …

Simple pay mistakes can cost big bucks

04/01/2008
What’s being underpaid $44.63 worth? It netted one lucky California employee more than $10,000 …

Beware anti-Labor comments if taking over unionized operation

04/01/2008
When W&M Properties took over management of an office complex, it immediately set about changing the staffing model under which building engineers would work. Managers began interviewing the seven incumbent engineers for positions under the new structure as well as outside, nonunion candidates. At some point during the interviews, a hiring manager let it be known that the company did not want a unionized work force …

Spaghetti incident gets even messier in LAFD’s tangled tale

04/01/2008
A jury has added $1.6 million to the tab for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) handling of a discrimination lawsuit, bringing the total to $4.5 million. The case began when a black LAFD firefighter alleged that someone had laced his spaghetti dinner with dog food …

Pasadena hospital owes employees $32.9 million for unpaid overtime

04/01/2008
California Superior Court Judge William A. MacLaughlin recently ordered a hospital to pay its employees nearly $32.9 million in restitution …

Oakland, Hayward manufacturers hit with labor and safety violations

04/01/2008
The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency has issued numerous citations and fines totaling more than $500,000 for labor and safety violations at nine Alameda County companies …

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 …

Schwarzenegger vows to continue health care reform

04/01/2008
On Jan. 29, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement that he is determined to change California’s health care system despite the defeat of A.B.X. 11, the omnibus health care reform legislation that recently stalled in Sacramento …