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Hawaii

Calif. OT law may apply to out-of-state workers

11/25/2008

Do you have employees who live and work in another state, but whose jobs sometimes bring them to California? Then you may be making a big overtime mistake if you pay them as if they were working in their home states.

Court: Local governments can create benefit-spending requirements

11/25/2008

Many California employers are viewing a recent decision by a federal appeals court as a setback. The court upheld the right of local governments to pass ordinances that essentially force employers to provide a certain level of funding for employee benefits.

Retirees who take lump sum still have standing to sue

11/25/2008

Don’t think that employees who take their retirement benefits in a lump sum can’t sue for alleged fiduciary breaches. A recent federal appeals court decision says although retirees are not technically employees anymore, they still have standing to sue …

Slurs, ‘code’ can create hostile environment

10/20/2008

Just one incident of name-calling or behavior that could be interpreted as racist—if sufficiently severe—might be enough to color other incidents in a racist light. And if a complaint leads to court, that may mean the harassed employee could get a chance to show a jury just how unpleasant co-workers made his life.

Cash-balance pension plans don’t violate ERISA rules

10/20/2008

A cash-balance pension plan is one in which the employer contributes a set amount each month on behalf of an employee. The employee eventually collects pension benefits based on the cash balance in his or her account. Some employees have claimed that such plans favor younger employees and therefore are illegal …

If process was fair, don’t second-guess your hiring decision

09/19/2008

Hiring decisions are tough, especially when you add the worry over whether rejected applicants may think you discriminated against them. But as long as you don’t actively conceal critical facts about whom you hired, rejected applicants have to move fast to sue …

Public employees must file USERRA claims in state court

09/19/2008

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has limited the way state employees can sue the agencies where they work for violating their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). State employees can’t go to federal court with their claims. Instead, they must sue in state court …

Set clear job requirements to stop bias claims

09/19/2008

Employees who claim they were wrongly denied a promotion for some discriminatory reason (for example, based on race, age or some other protected characteristic) have the initial burden of proving they were qualified for the position they sought. The best protection employers have against such claims: clear, concise and accurate minimum job requirements …

Denying FMLA leave could make you liable for lost wages

08/15/2008
If an employer denies legitimate FMLA leave and that denial, in turn, causes an employee to miss work because he becomes depressed or stressed, the employer may have to pay lost wages for those missed days. That’s what the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a unique case that could have far-reaching effects …

Air conditioning: mandatory accommodation?

07/21/2008
Charles Gribben, a UPS driver in Phoenix, was told by his doctor to operate only trucks with air conditioning. But UPS, finding it couldn’t accommodate Gribben’s disability, terminated him. Gribben sued UPS under the ADA …