“Opportunities don’t present themselves in ideal circumstances. If you wait for all the lights to turn green, you will never leave your driveway.”
John W. Maxwell
This is certainly a time to look (under rocks, if need be!) for opportunities. With a new year fast approaching, we all hope for better days to come and an economy that will soon turnaround. Of course, as an HR professional, I’m always thankful for a year that passes by without massive additions to our already cumbersome employment laws! The information below provides update and insight for those of you who are challenged with managing your company’s human capital. Please let me know if you have questions on the topics discussed this month or if you have other “burning” issues you would like to see addressed. Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving holiday enjoying family and friends. I’m spending it with my new husband, David!
Terri Olson Spreen
To provide you with more information on this topic since our last newsletter, the DLSE has confirmed that they will comply with the court’s decision regarding the issues of meals and breaks. Although the court’s decision in the Brinker case isn’t law, their rulings became effective immediately and the DLSE is applying the decision to claims under their review. This decision provides relief to the numerous claims being filed each day against employers. However, we continue to advise encouraging employees to take their appropriate breaks and meals to prevent poor morale. For a legal opinion on this matter, please refer to the article by the law firm that we use, Payne and Fears…
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation on September 30, 2008, amending overtime exemption requirements for employees in the computer software field to add an annual salary limit. Existing law exempts professional employees in the computer software field from overtime compensation requirements if the employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative, the employee’s hourly rate of pay is not less than $36, and the employee meets other requirements under the law. This law is amended to provide that the overtime exemption for employees in the computer software field applies if the employee is paid at an hourly rate of not less than $36 and, if the employee is paid on a salaried basis, the employee earns an annual salary of not less than $75,000 for full-time employment, which is paid at least once a month and in a monthly amount of not less than $6,250. This law took effect on immediately on September 30, 2008. (A.B. 10, Laws 2008) Information provided by CCH.
Since the episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” where the fictional doctors at Seattle Grace hospital were asked to sign so called “love contracts” whenever any member of the staff started having sexual relations with another employee, employers have wondered whether these “consensual relationship” agreements will save them from liability when the relationship goes sour. According to Fisher & Phillips labor and employment law attorney Ann Margaret Pointer, a “love contract” or “consensual relationship” agreement is a “written confirmation that two employees’ romantic relationship is voluntary, and that they both understand and know how to use employer policies that deal with harassment in the workplace.” The contracts are essentially a means for companies to limit their liability when employees enter into a relationship with one another. If you have employees involved in romantic relationships, consider asking your employees to sign a “love contract.” Ask us for more details…
Page 1 of 1 pages
