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Employment Law

San Francisco mandates commuter benefits for employees

10/20/2008

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently signed an ordinance that will require employers to offer workers at least one of three commuter-benefit options: a pretax election to offset commuting costs, an employer-paid benefit or employer-provided transit.

Schwarzenegger vetoes card-check union voting for farm workers

10/20/2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have allowed California farm workers to seek union representation using a card-check system that was opposed by the farming industry. Although the California Assembly and Senate passed the legislation after a summer of wrangling over details, Schwarzenegger spiked the bill …

Confidentiality provision may violate federal labor law

10/20/2008

A temporary employment agency violated federal labor law by including a confidentiality provision in an employment contract, according to a recent NLRB ruling (Northeastern Land Services, Ltd. dba The NLS Group and Jamison John Dupuy, 352 NLRB No. 89, 2008). In the case, the agency fired a worker for violating the confidentiality provision …

What do we do now that our employees have voted for an alternative workweek?

10/20/2008

Q. Our employees recently voted to establish a 4-10 workweek—four workdays a week, 10 hours per day. Are we required to submit the election results to the state? …

What are the rules for handling ‘seventh day’ overtime pay?

10/20/2008

Q. One of my employees worked four 10-hour days this week. His last day of work fell on Sunday, the seventh day of our workweek. We do not currently have an alternative work schedule arrangement. Do we have any overtime obligations to this employee? …

Justify why similar work warrants different pay

10/20/2008

If some of your employees perform similar jobs under different pay structures, make sure you can justify the differences with good, solid reasons that will stand up to a side-by-side comparison. Otherwise, one of your lower-paid workers may sue you for discrimination.

Congress gives employees new whistles to blow

10/17/2008

If your business involves creating, distributing or selling consumer products, make sure your managers know they can’t retaliate against employees who voice complaints about the products’ safety …

Federal contractors: Heed the government’s new test for pay discrimination

10/17/2008

If your organization benefits from federal contractors, familiarize yourself with the new “tipping point test” of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) …

Change your computer passwords often: Study casts suspicious eye on departing IT staff

10/17/2008

Exercise extreme caution when terminating employees with knowledge of your IT systems. More than eight in 10 IT security professionals admitted that, if laid off tomorrow, they’d take valuable and sensitive company information with them, according to a new Cyber-Ark Software survey.

Can you be personally sued for an FMLA mistake?

10/17/2008

Lawyers believe two pockets are better than one. That’s why, whenever possible, they’ll try to sue both the employer plus the supervisor (or the HR director!) who made the alleged employment law mistake. That means the supervisor’s home and nest egg could be at risk …