Tag: california hr
Employee Performance and Discipline: What Can I Do to Prevent “Negligent Retention” Lawsuits?
We recently got hit with a “negligent retention” suit and want to revamp our policies. We now know that we can be liable if we find out something bad about an employee but keep him or her on anyway, and then the employee does something to a client. Just how bad does that something have […]
Evaluations: How Can We Encourage Honest Performance Appraisals?
I’ve been reading about how important it is from a legal standpoint to give accurate performance appraisals, and when I look over ours, I know we’re not doing that—basically everyone is “good” or “excellent,” even though managers complain about poor workers. I know we’re going to get in trouble if we fire any of these […]
Theft: Can We Deduct the Cost of a Loss from the Whole Team?
We have agreed to operate on a team basis in our organization. We share workload, bonuses, etc. Now we’ve got a problem. We think someone on the team has stolen something from the office, but no one will admit to the theft. May we deduct a certain amount from each employee’s check to cover the […]
USERRA: What Do We Do with a Returning Vet Who Would Have Been Promoted but Isn’t Ready for the Higher-Level Job?
We’ve got a quandary. A number of our workers have been sent to Iraq and will be returning at some point. We are, of course, more than happy to reinstate them. But they will have missed a year or two of training and development. As we read the law, it looks like we must reinstate […]
Off Duty Activities: Can We Restrict or Prohibit Employees’ Second Jobs?
We’ve got some situations brewing concerning moonlighting. We have a few employees who are working during their off hours for a company that competes with us indirectly, and we have a few others who we believe are missing work due to jobs elsewhere. We also have a few who are obviously pretty tired—again, we think […]
Great California Workplaces: Insomniac Games Is a Winner in Motivating Employees; The Game Plan for Success
What makes an organization a terrific place to work? We set on the path to find out with the Employer Resource Institute’s 2006 Great California Workplaces Award contest. As we discovered, keys to a great workplace include unique, innovative, and effective programs that combine to create a relationship of respect and trust between employer and […]
Employment Law Tip: Ready for the Minimum Wage Hike?
As we head into the last week of 2006, employers that haven’t done so already must take quick steps to ensure they’ll be ready to comply with the new California minimum wage come January 1.
Immigration: H-2B Visa Cap Reached
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach H-2B cap of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first six months of fiscal year 2007 (FY 2007). The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to request foreign workers to fill a one-time, peak load, intermittent, or […]
Health Benefits: New HIPAA Nondiscrimination Rules for Wellness Programs
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published final rules regarding compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for wellness programs. The rules will be effective on the first day of the plan year beginning on or after July 1, 2007. For calendar year […]