Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners. More details about the events and Human Resources 4U can be found on my website.

 

My next engagement is entitled "The 7 Deadly Sins of Employers" It will be held on Tuesday, November 27 and is sponsored by the Pomona Rotary. For more information please go to my website.

 

Labor Law Update 2013: If you are interested in having me give a “Labor Law Update for 2013” presentation to your organization early next year, please contact me so we can schedule the event.

 

HR4U 101 for 2013Workshop

My next full day workshop will be held on January 9, 2013. This is a practical workshop that focuses on all the things you need to know to comply with California employment law and some guidance on best practices for all your employee related efforts. Download the flyer for all the workshop details.

 

Fry’s Pays $2.3 million to Settle Retaliation and Harassment Claim

Fry's Electronics Inc. will pay $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit from the federal government alleging that the retailer retaliated against a supervisor who reported a sexual harassment claim.

A supervisor was fired after alerting supervisors to inappropriate behavior toward one of his young employees, according to the EEOC.

 

A 20-year-old sales associate, told the supervisor that an assistant store manager was frequently sending her sexually charged text messages propositioning her and commenting on her body while inviting her to his house to drink.

 

The conduct, which began in 2007, left the sales associate feeling "overwhelmed, uncomfortable, and stressed out. After speaking up on the sales associate’s behalf, the supervisor was let go from the company. He was told that his termination was due to a decline in performance, though he was often lauded for his work.

 

The EEOC said it initially tried to reach a voluntary settlement with Fry's but was rebuffed. Eventually, the commission filed suit in federal court. The EEOC said Thursday that Fry's filed a three-year consent decree in which it promised to take more measures to prevent harassment or retaliation. The sales associate and the supervisor will split most of the $2.3-million settlement.

 

The amount also includes a $100,000 penalty stemming from Fry's handling of the case, which the EEOC said involved "destroying relevant evidence, wrongfully withholding evidence and filing frivolous motions."

 

Can an employee sue if an employer doesn't provide a place to express milk?

Amid the many pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a provision requiring employers to provide female employees a place other than a bathroom to express milk for their infants. This place must be shielded from view and free from intrusion from other employees and the public.

 

If an employer fails to do so, can the employee sue to force the employer to comply? According to a U.S. District Court in Iowa, the answer is no, the employee does not.

 

But — and it is a big “but” — the court did hold that a plaintiff can sue for retaliation and constructive discharge if the employer retaliates against an employee for complaining about the policy (or in this case, the lack of one). A new claim is born.

 

However, in California, the employee has more rights. Here is a brief summary.

 

Lactation Accommodation for all California employees

• Every employer shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be unpaid. 
• The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room or location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section. 
• An employer is not required to provide break time under this chapter if to do so would seriously disrupt the operations of the employer. 
• An employer who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation.

 

Factoids

• Most difficult jobs to fill

• Skilled trade workers
• Engineers
• IT staff
• Sales reps
• Accounting and financial staff

• 78% of employees say that it is important to determine how much they will need for a secure retirement but only 33% of employees say they know how to make their retirement savings last a lifetime

• In another survey 62% of older workers said they were confident that they will have enough income for a comfortable retirement but 47% of them had less than $100,000 in investible assets.

• A family today can expect to spend $234,000 to raise a child to age 17 (with inflation it would be $296,000

 

Quote

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others”

~Jonathan Swift~