• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Compensation & Benefits

Pennsylvania House considers mandatory sick leave bill

09/24/2010

A Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee has begun considering legislation that would require all employers to provide some paid sick leave for employees. The Healthy Family, Healthy Workplaces Act would require employers with 10 or more employees to provide at least one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 52 hours per year.

Ensure fair distribution of work opportunities

09/24/2010

Does your company employ salespeople who are responsible for meeting certain benchmark goals? If so, be sure you have some way to check that everyone competes on an even footing. That includes ensuring that things like territories and leads are distributed in a way that doesn’t favor members of one group at the expense of another.

Can we discipline late worker by cutting her pay?

09/23/2010
Q. One of our hourly employees ($15 per hour) arrives late way too often. We’d like her to get here on time so we’re considering cutting her hourly rate when she arrives late. For example, if she arrives an hour late, we would not pay her for the hour and cut her pay to minimum wage for the rest of the day. Can we do that?

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?

Loose lips lead to lawsuits: Consult lawyer before releasing personal info

09/22/2010
Privacy laws are confusing. If you are unsure about whether you can release any employee information, check with your attorney. That may help you avoid the kind of drawn-out litigation one employer recently endured.

Bill would double rewards for minimum wage lawsuits

09/22/2010

California employees who sue their employers for minimum wage violations and win will be able to collect twice as much if a recently passed bill becomes law. A.B. 1881 would amend the California Labor Code to allow employees to sue for twice the amount they were underpaid, plus interest.

No private right to sue for tip violations

09/22/2010
The California Supreme Court has ruled that employees don’t have a private right to sue their employers for alleged tip violations.

Timeshare company to pay $868,000 in back wages

09/21/2010
Orlando-based Central Florida Investments will pay $868,443 in back pay and overtime to 1,065 employees to settle a complaint filed with the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Use absenteeism point system to avoid favoritism disputes

09/21/2010
Many employers use a point system to punish absenteeism, firing employees who accumulate too many points. Such a system negates the need to track the total number of hours of work an employee misses, since the employer is counting points rather than time.