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Compensation & Benefits

Tell supervisors: Enforce attendance rules equally—or prepare for court

04/20/2009

If your organization uses progressive discipline to enforce your attendance policy, caution supervisors against making exceptions for some employees unless it’s clear the absence shouldn’t have been counted against them (for example, the absence was an FMLA-related reason or part of an approved ADA accommodation).

How much FMLA leave for unwed parents?

04/20/2009

Q. We employ the unwed parents of a newborn child. They have requested FMLA leave to care for their child after birth. Both parents are eligible for leave, but we would like to limit their leave to a combined total of 12 weeks during the 12-month leave period. Can two parents of the same newborn be limited to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA?

Good news: Former employees can’t just keep filing lawsuits

04/17/2009

Here’s some encouraging news for employers. Courts are cracking down on employees who file seemingly never-ending successions of lawsuits. They’re dismissing such suits fast. But a court can do so only if you let it know that the former employee has already filed (and lost or won) a previous round of litigation.

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.

The HR I.Q. Test: May ’09

04/17/2009

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Requiring employees to undergo health-risk assessments could violate the ADA, says EEOC

04/17/2009

The EEOC recently said that employers should not require employees to take health-risk assessments in order to obtain health coverage through the employer. Such tests could violate the ADA’s rules against disability-related inquiries.

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.

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.

The impact of partial-day absences on exempt status

04/17/2009

Q. We have a policy that allows exempt employees to take partial days off and have the balance of the day charged against their accrued vacation time in two-hour increments. I have concerns that this arrangement—despite the fact the exempt employees are getting their full salaries—could appear that they’re being treated as hourly employees, thus jeopardizing their FLSA exemption status.