Employment Law Articles

Learn and discover the latest useful employment law articles for practical information, DIY, and ideas from a network of leading business and corporate lawyers.

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How to put in your two weeks.

We’ll cover what you need to know about how to give your two weeks’ notice in the most professional way. The first step on how to put in your two weeks notice is to read the company's employee's handbook. 

Two weeks notice letter

A two weeks notice letter is an employee's resignation letter informing the employer of their intent to resign two weeks from the date of the letter. A two-week notice letter tells an employer that you will leave their company in 14 days.

California Age Discrimination

California prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who are 40 years old or older. It is illegal for an employer to deny any employee benefits or privileges, such as hiring, recruiting, on-the-job-training, promotion, or compensation based on age.

California independent contractor vs employee.

California law AB 5 requires the application of the “ABC test” to determine if workers in California are employees or independent contractors. The basic test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee is whether the principal has the right to control the manner and means by which the work is performed.

Age discrimination in California

Employers in California are prohibited from discriminating against employees 40 years old or older based on age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment,

What are the defenses to age discrimination?

A lawyer who defends an employer against an age discrimination lawsuit will assert affirmative defenses, including that the employee was not qualified for occupation, business necessity, or seniority system.

Duties of Receptionist in a Hotel

Two main responsibilities and duties of a hotel receptionist are: 1) Answer telephone calls to provide information, Here are some duties and responsibilities for a receptionist, and 2) Greet and receive walk-in guests.

What is an EDD Audit?

An EDD audit is a payroll tax audit to ensure that a company correctly classified workers as employees, wages made to employees are accurately reported, and protects workers' rights to receive benefits.

What is a Disciplinary Action?

Employer disciplinary action is a response by the employer to problems with unwanted employee behavior or poor performance. A disciplinary action is a reprimand or corrective action in response to employee’s poor performance, misconduct, or rule violation.

What is Employment Status?

Employment status means the rights and protections that employees are entitled to at work based on classification, e.g., full-time employment, part-time employment, temporary or contract employment.

Questions for Performance Review

What are your proudest accomplishments this quarter? Why? What other goals have you achieved? How? What experience, project, or action are you most proud of since the last review?

What Does Basic Pay Mean?

Basic pay, also referred to as basic salary or base pay, means a fixed amount that an employer agrees to pay an employee in exchange for the employee's time, services, and work. In other words, base pay is the hourly wage or monthly salary a company pays an employee for working.

Employee Development Plan – with examples

What is an employee development plan? An employee development plan is a collaborative, actionable list of steps that an employee completes to meet their desired growth plan

What is a Pay Stub?

A pay stub provides a record of an employee’s wages and helps them understand their taxes, contributions, and deductions. A pay stub is what an employer gives to employees with their paycheck, showing the gross pay, itemized deductions, and net pay amount.

Succession Planning

Succession planning is the process of identifying the critical positions within your company and developing action plans for successors and employees to assume those positions. Succession planning involves preparing potential leaders and high performers for possible future roles.

What is Retro Pay?

The meaning of retro pay is compensation added to an employee's paycheck to make up for work performed that wasn’t paid in a previous pay period. Retro pay is unpaid wages an employer owes an employee from a previous pay period. 

What is a Floating Holiday?

A floating holiday is a flexible paid day off that employees can decide when to take. A floating holiday is a benefit some employers offer employees in addition to PTO or paid vacation.

What is Imputed Income?

Imputed income means income attributed to taxable non-cash benefits an employee receives in the form of fringe benefits that are not a part of their wage or salary, such as gym membership, company car, moving expense, life insurance, or tuition.

Gross vs Net Income: Definition and How to Calculate

A gross income is an employee’s total income before taxes and deductions are subtracted. A net income is an employee’s gross income minus taxes and other paycheck deductions.

What is an Employee Evaluation?

An employee evaluation is a method used by managers and human resource departments to review an employee's performance during a set period of time.  An employee evaluation also provides employee feedback, identifies potential training and development, and provides a basis for promotion and pay raises.

What is a Contingent Worker Meaning?

Contingent workers are independent contractors who are people who lend their skills and expertise to a business on a project-by-project or short-term basis. A contingent worker is someone who works for an organization without being hired as their employee.

What is Bi-Weekly Pay?

A bi-weekly pay schedule is when employees are paid every other week on a specific day of the week. It is the most commonly used pay schedule by employers to deliver checks to its employees on the same day every other week.

I Got Audited by Unemployment

The payroll tax audit ensures workers are properly classifed, payments made to employees are properly reported, and protects workers’ rights to receive benefits. If you fail an EDD or California Labor Commissioner audit, your company could be liable to face penalties and interest on the owed taxes.

What Happens if You Fail an Unemployment Audit?

In you fail an unemployment audit, the commission adds a 15% penalty to the tax. If you fail to defend yourself the EDD will impose a significant fine against you and your company.

EDD Unemployment Fraud Penalties

Unemployment Insurance (UI) fraud is a misdemeanor punishable by law and violators may be sentenced up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. If the unemployment insurance fraud convictionis a felony, it's punishable by 16 months, 2 or 3 years in a California state prison, and a fine up to $20,000.

How Do I Appeal a Labor Commissioner Decision In California?

The appeal must be filed within 15 days from the date on the certification of service by mail (or 20 days if the ODA was served to an address out of state).

What Does Employee Onboarding Mean in HR?

In human resources, onboarding is defined as the processes in which new hires are integrated into the organization. It includes activities such as integrating a new employee onto payroll, sexual harassment training, company policy, etc.

What are Formal and Informal Communication in Business?

Formal communication is communicating of official information about the business or workplace. Examples of formal communication are reports, business letters, purchase orders, while informal communication are often telephone or in person conversations.

Employee Relationship Management

Employee relations refers to the relationship between or among an employer and its employees. Employee relationship management refers to managing the relation between the various employees in an organization.

Who Are Millennials

Any person born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 27 to 42 in 2023) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born after 1997 are considered Generation Z.
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