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California

New law puts curbs on Social Security numbers on paychecks

12/01/2007

Q. We’ve heard that a new law changes how we use Social Security numbers in the workplace. Is that true? …

You can automatically apply FMLA/CFRA leave with notice

11/01/2007

Employees who need to take time off for serious health conditions can use both federal FMLA leave and California Family Rights Act (CFRA) leave, plus other paid leave for the absences. But employers can require employees to use their available FMLA and CFRA leaves for any eligible condition, even if the employees are off on other paid leave. That way, employees aren’t eligible for more time off after they have exhausted other leave entitlements …

Supervisors need to know: don’t penalize complainers

11/01/2007

Sometimes employees file discrimination complaints just to see if their employers will retaliate in some way. Then they hit back with a retaliation claim. It’s a classic trap—and it doesn’t matter if the original complaint was weak. Don’t fall for it. Instead, make sure you treat the employee exactly as you would have if he hadn’t filed the complaint …

Make it a policy: Civil behavior required at work

11/01/2007

Although employers can’t guarantee a stress-free work environment, it makes sense to eliminate as much unpleasantness as possible. That means establishing and enforcing “no hazing” and “no public argument” rules. Urge supervisors and co-workers who act like bullies to clean up their acts …

If nothing else, you can demand employee honesty

11/01/2007

Do you detect a certain reluctance by employees to cooperate when investigators are trying to do their jobs and get to the bottom of employment problems? Then it may be time to remind employees that you expect honest and forthright cooperation, and nothing less. Then, go ahead and discipline employees who don’t cooperate …

Satellite offices may not count for WARN layoff notice

11/01/2007

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice before a plant closing or a mass layoff involving 50 or more employees at a “single site of employment.” Employees have tried to argue that satellite offices should be included to determine if WARN notification was due …

New military spouse leave law raises many questions

11/01/2007

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California Assembly Bill 392 into law on Oct. 9, he and the legislature gave California employers only the sketchiest outline of how the new military spouse leave law will work. A few things are clear about the law, which amends the California Military and Veterans Code. First, only employers with 25 or more employees in the United States are covered …

It’s disabled employee’s burden to show qualification

11/01/2007

The California Supreme Court has made it easier for employers to comply with the disability discrimination provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The court ruled that employees must prove they are qualified for the jobs they seek, not the other way around …

Open accommodations: Sonoma settles agoraphobia case

11/01/2007

In a case filed by a 24-year human services department employee who was diagnosed with panic disorder and agoraphobia, Sonoma County agreed to settle a claim that the county failed to accommodate his disability …

Report finds state job growth on far ends of the spectrum

11/01/2007

A report published by the nonprofit California Budget Project has found that job growth in California was considerably concentrated at the highest and lowest ends of the earnings range. According to the report, A Generation of Widening Inequality, which was issued on Aug. 23, the gap between the two ends has widened in the past decade and will continue to do so in the coming years …