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Employment Law

Owner can be personally liable for FLSA violations

04/17/2009

Here’s an important reminder for small companies and their owners: Don’t think that owners aren’t personally liable for wage-and-hour violations simply because they run their operations through a corporation or limited liability company. As the following case shows, employees can personally sue hands-on owners.

SF Chronicle employees ratify contract concessions

04/17/2009

The California Media Workers Guild has announced that its members voted to accept concessionary amendments to their collective-bargaining contract with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Court of Appeal rules in favor of grocery workers

04/17/2009

A California Court of Appeal has reversed a ruling against grocery store workers represented by the United Food and Commercial workers who were locked out during a 4½-month labor dispute in 2003 and 2004. The dispute stemmed from an effort by approximately 8,000 workers at Albertsons and Ralphs grocery stores to obtain unemployment benefits for the time they were locked out.

L.A. police officer wins $2.3 million in harassment suit

04/17/2009

A federal jury has awarded $2.3 million to a Los Angeles police officer who claimed that male officers sexually harassed her. Melissa Borck, who remains an officer, sued the city for violating the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Furlough days switched from scheduled to floating days

04/17/2009

On March 6, the state announced that, with the enactment of the 2009 state budget, mandatory furloughs previously imposed on state employees will change to floating furlough days.

What are the ‘seventh-day’ requirements for paying part-time employees?

04/17/2009

Q. If an employee works four-hour shifts for seven consecutive days, are we required to pay him time-and-a-half for the seventh day? Is it even lawful for us to require him to work seven consecutive days?

What does the proposed Employee Free Choice Act involve, and what are its prospects?

04/17/2009

Q. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has been headline news as of late. What is this proposed legislation?

DOL to ‘refocus’ on enforcement; add 33% more investigators

04/17/2009

Employers, beware: U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is promising to “refocus the agency on its enforcement responsibilities” in the coming months. The proof: DOL is adding 250 new field investigators—a staff increase of more than a third—to look into noncompliance on wage-and-hour issues.

New ‘red flag’ identity theft mandate takes effect in May

04/17/2009

If your organization sells products or services on credit, take note: May 1, 2009, is the deadline to comply with the identity theft requirements in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Dubbed the “red flag” rules, they require all financial institutions and creditors to create and implement a written program for “detection, prevention and mitigation” of identity theft of consumers’ data.

Employers aren’t required to offer intermittent FMLA leave for birth, adoptions

04/17/2009

If an employee is taking FMLA leave to care for a newborn or to adopt a child, you can require the person to take any planned FMLA leave in one session. FMLA intermittent leave is not guaranteed for birth and adoption the way it is for other serious conditions that require periodic care.