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Employment Law

When computing employee pay, are we allowed to round off employee working hours?

06/20/2012
Q. My company uses a time clock to track the hours of nonexempt employees. When we determine the wages to be paid to employees, can we round up or down to the nearest five-minute increment?

Court strikes down embattled NLRB’s ‘ambush election’ rule

06/20/2012

In recent months, the National Labor Relations Board has been busy. So have courts that oversee its activities. Two courts handed down employer-friendly decisions invalidating or at least delaying the implementation of new rules instituted by the NLRB.

Overtime violations cost Downey nursing firm $654,082

06/20/2012
A lawsuit prompted by a DOL investigation has resulted in a court order requiring Extended Health Care Inc. of Downey to pay $654,082 to 108 nurses who alleged they missed out on overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Security firm lets down guard on San Jose harassment

06/20/2012
Guardsmark Security will pay $25,000 to settle a national-origin and age-­harassment complaint filed by an employee working in San Jose.

Patient advocacy can’t be basis for CBPC lawsuit

06/20/2012
A federal court has refused to open up yet another avenue for employees who want to directly sue their em­­ployers.

Shuttering related business won’t stop union organizing

06/20/2012
Think twice before shutting down one of several related businesses just to stop the spread of pro-union sentiment. It’s likely to prompt a lawsuit, and a court may well take organized labor’s side.

Public employer? Beware retaliation against employee who testifies in civil rights case

06/20/2012
Ordinarily, civil servants have qualified immunity for actions arising from their official duties as government workers. But punishing a subordinate for testifying in a civil rights lawsuit clearly destroys that immunity.

Remember, ‘persons’ can report FEHA violations–even if they’re partners in the business

06/20/2012
The Court of Appeal of California has ruled for the first time that a partner who reports sexual harassment is protected from retaliation under the Fair Employment and Hous­­­­ing Act (FEHA).

Employee using medical marijuana? Firing won’t be a violation of the ADA

06/20/2012
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has taken on medical marijuana and the ADA, concluding that individuals who use marijuana, even if doing so legally under state law, aren’t ­protected from discrimination under the ADA. That means disciplining employees for using medical marijuana won’t violate the ADA.

Yelp! squawks, but settles OT suit for $1.25 million

06/20/2012
A settlement has ended a class-action wage-and-hour suit filed on behalf of nearly 1,000 employees at Yelp!, the website that allows consumers to submit reviews of  restaurants, stores and health care professionals.