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California

Clarify if (and when) employees can drive company car for personal use

06/01/2006

Don’t leave any wiggle room in your policies regarding when employees can use company vehicles for personal use. Make those policies clear and precise. If you don’t provide understandable direction to employees, a court could interpret that as implied consent …

Beware of a growing risk: harassment by customers

03/01/2006

Too many employers think harassment is a problem only when it’s an employee-on-employee thing. Recent court rulings prove that you can be held liable even when outsiders harass your employees. Taking action may cost you a customer, but courts say defending employees must come first …

When can nonsexual bullying equal sexual harassment?

01/01/2006

f you think sexual harassment involves only those headline-grabbing actions like groping behind closed doors or demands for sex, you’re wrong. The law also says that if your organization tolerates employees who single out co-workers of one gender for abusive (nonsexual) treatment, you could be liable for a sexual harassment lawsuit based on a hostile environment …

Examine entire contractor link, not just uniforms

08/01/2003

Q. Can our company require an independent contractor to wear a specific uniform? And can we stipulate that the contractor buy the uniform through us? —A.C., California

State law dictates your payroll frequency

07/01/2003

Q. Is it legal to adopt a once-a-month payroll for hourly employees? What other issues come up with a monthly payroll? —J.S., California

When to Pay for On-Call Time

02/01/2003

Q. When do we have to count “on-call” time as hours worked?—L.G., California

When to Pay for Rest Breaks

08/01/2002

Q. What’s the deal on paying workers for rest breaks? —J.S., California

Keep Control Over Comp-Time Accumulation

11/01/2001

Q. We have an exempt supervisor who’s accumulated more than 400 hours of comp time over the past year. It’s almost impossible for her to take 400 hours of comp time and do her job. What is our obligation to pay for this comp time? How can this issue best be resolved? —G.H., California

Check arbitration pacts against these standards

10/01/2000

Q. To hold down litigation costs and resolve disputes faster, we’re thinking about requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements that would make them arbitrate employment disputes instead of going to court. Are these agreements legal? —C.R., California

Don’t Ban Breast-Feeding if You Allow Baby at Work

04/01/2000

Q. Can we legally prohibit female workers from breast-feeding at work? —R.B., California