Business is constantly changing, and information is the key to keeping your company up-to-date on HR needs and requirements. We created this newsletter as a way to keep you informed about the HR issues that matter most to you. Staying up-to-date will help you make better business decisions and protect you from costly errors.
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Please let us know if you have any HR needs or questions. We would love to help you out! In the mean time, we hope you find this newsletter helpful and interesting.
Sincerely,
Terri L. Olson
The case of Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Hohnbaum) has been stayed along with the question of your responsibility in requiring your employees to take breaks. The case states that “employers must provide meal periods by making them available, but need not ensure that they are taken.” The employees filed a petition for review with the California Supreme Court, which means that the court of appeal case is on hold until the Court decides whether it will take the case. The Court has until the end of October to decide and can extend that deadline until the end of November.
We recommend waiting until the Supreme Court has made this case final and enforceable - the answer to which we will not know for some time. Until then, ensure all nonexempt employees take their unpaid 30 minute meal break for an uninterrupted 30 minutes no later than 4:59 into their shift. Employee waivers (unless the shift is less than 6 hours) are unenforceable, even if the employee requests to do so. Allowing employees to miss these breaks exposes you to an additional hour of employee wages for every day the meal break is missed or interrupted.
If you have compliance concerns regarding meal and/or rest breaks for your nonexmpt employees, contact HR Prescriptions by or call us at (714) 441-2422.
Since July 1, 2008, drivers have been required to use a hands free device while talking on their cell phone while driving. Starting January 1, 2009, text-based communication while driving will be prohibited as well, with the same penalties - $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses.
Specifically, the law prohibits writing, sending or reading text-based communication - including text messaging, instant messaging and e-mail - on a wireless device or cell phone while driving.
If you need help updating your cell phone policy, Employee Handbook or other documents to reflect these new requirements, please . We would love to help!
Download the Form
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) modified the expiration date of the Form I-9. Make sure your new hire packet contains the document with the expiration date of 6/16/07 (found in the lower right-hand corner), which replaces all prior versions of this form.
There were no substantive changes made to the form itself. The primary change was to the form’s expiration date since the prior version was set to expire at the end of June. Now the Form I-9 expires June 30, 2009.
Employers must start using the latest version of Form I-9 for employment verification and record retention purposes. There is no need to redo the documents for your existing employees.
With the new Military Family Leave provisions added to Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), make sure you have updated your Employee Handbook and Leave of Absence Request forms to educate your employees of these new options for FMLA leave.
Briefly, the National Defense Authorization Act amended FMLA to provide eligible employees two important new leave rights related to military service:
- Up to 12 weeks of leave because of “any qualifying exigency” arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call to active duty status, in support of a contingency operation. (NOTE: We continue to wait for the Secretary of Labor to define “any qualifying exigency” making compliance a little challenging.)
- Up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty.
for more information or to have your policies and/or forms updated.
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