Can an Employer Deduct Vacation Hours for Partial-Day Absences?

In this recent CA appellate case, the court confirmed that an employer may charge an exempt employee's vacation account for less than four hour partial-day absences.  The plaintiff's argued that his employer, General Atomics', could only deduct hours from his vacation balance if the employee partial-day absence exceed four hours.

Rhea v. General Atomics (CA4/1 D064517 7/21/14) Exempt Employees/Partial Day Absence Deductions

This appeals presents a challenge to General Atomics' employment practice of requiring exempt employees to use their annual leave hours when they are absent from work for portions of a day.  Although Conley v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 260, 263 (Conley) established that California law does not prohibit an employer "from following the established federal policy permitting employers to deduct from exempt employees' vacation leave, when available, on account of partial-day absences," appellant Lori Rhea contends that Conley was wrongly decided, or in the alternative, that even under Conley, General Atomics is not permitted to deduct from an exempt employee's leave bank when the employee is absent for less than four hours. 

We conclude that Rhea's contentions are without merit, and accordingly we affirm the trial court's judgment in favor of General Atomics.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D064517.PDF

    

eqHR is an Authorized ADP On-Site Training Firm

ADP does not offer on-site training for many of their high quality payroll / HR products and it is not cost effective for small to medium size clients to maintain permanent ADP product training staff.

Since there is a natural overlap of payroll and human resources services, we have been working closely with ADP representatives to help solve their client's needs. This month, we were added to the list of ADP approved consultants for on-site product training and implementation

eqHR consultants can provide ADP product expertise to solve your training and implementation issues to maximize the investment of your ADP products. In just a few hours, eqHR consultants, can fully implement your ADP product, train your staff, and/or create custom reporting templates than can be used repeatedly.

eqHR  can reduce your payroll expense - Outsource your payroll data entry to eqHR Solutions. Keying payroll is not a full time position. We have clients in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with 15 to 300 employees, who are saving significantly after outsourcing their ADP payroll data entry function.       

New Court Decision - Commissioned Employee Exception

The Supreme Court of California just ruled on a case at the request of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Peabody v. Time Warner should be reviewed by any employer who maintain a sales force that is compensated hourly near the minimum hourly wage and who's employees are are paid commissions on a monthly basis.

The facts as reported are that from July 2008 to May 15, 2009, Peabody was a Time Warner account
executive selling advertising on the company‟s cable television channels. Every other week, Time Warner paid $769.23 in hourly wages, the equivalent of $9.61 per hour, assuming a 40-hour workweek. About every other pay period, Time Warner paid commission wages under its account executive compensation plan.

Time Warner argued that commissions should be reassigned from the biweekly pay periods in which they were paid to earlier pay periods. It reasoned that the commissions should be attributed to the “monthly pay period for which they were earned.”  Attributing the commission wages in this manner would satisfy the exemption‟s minimum earnings prong that requires a minimum hourly rate of $12.00 per hour. 

The court concluded it may not do so. Whether the minimum earnings prong is satisfied depends on the amount of wages actually paid in a pay period. An employer may not attribute wages paid in one pay period
to a prior pay period to cure a shortfall.
 

Nancy Trujillo Joins Advisory Board

Please help us welcome Nancy Trujillo to our Board of Advisers. Nancy's various executive roles and experience will provide eqHR Solutions with valuable business insight.

Nancy Trujillo is the Chief Financial Officer and a senior management member for the Santa Margarita Water District and oversees the finance/accounting, information technology, and customer relations groups. The District provides water and wastewater treatment services to more than 155,000 residential and commercial customers in south Orange County. Previously, Nancy held executive finance roles with MIG Real Estate and The Irvine Company, and has over 25 years’ experience in real estate development, acquisitions, operations, and financial management. She had responsibility for all financial aspects of a multi-billion dollar real estate portfolio and was a key player at both ...........

Effective Performance Management – S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Are you responsible for setting employee and company goals / targets?

If your business is located in Southern CA, we recommend our live, interactive 2-3 hour training. If not, you may purchase our latest webinar at:  https://compliancetrainings.com/SiteEngine/ProductDetailView.aspx?id=HR1230.

This training is a complete Goal Setting class for executives and all management / supervisor levels who are responsible for setting business goals and objectives.  For many, it may be the refresher needed. 

The S.M.A.R.T Goal process training identifies each step in the process from planning with clarify and purpose to the successful plan execution and goal completion.

We recommend a live, interactive small group training sessions that also provides the benefit of team building as your employees must work together.    

Need a Korean Speaking Human Resources Consultant?

Most human resources consulting firms are not fluent in Korean nor do they understand the unique Korean culture.

I am June Jeong, the CEO of eqHR Solutions. Over the past 15+ years, I have been the Senior Vice President of Human Resources or consulted directly with the CEO and the Board of Directors for many top-tiered Korean businesses, like Nara Bank, Hyundai Financial, Noa Bank and Wilshire Bank. My understanding of the Korean culture and the importance of human resources compliance may serve your business well.

Human Resources (HR) is one of the most vital aspects to your company's smooth and efficient operations. It can also be one of the most costly if left unmanaged. Seeking out HR advice or an opinion to solve an HR issue is a prudent course

Perhaps you need to strategize with a Korean human resources consultant to help you put in motion your ideas to improve productivity and reduce operating cost. Working with other clients, we have developed creative compensation, training and incentive programs to increase employee productivity & retention.

Call us today for a no obligation consultation - 855-461-8808.

What is the value of an Employee Hanbook

As you know, your company's handbook is a compilation of your employment policies & procedures. Your policies are very similar to the rules of the road (when to stop-go-turn).

Custom and well-drafted policies & procedures provides a formal notification and guidance to your employees.

Did you know that In California, the employment regulations are much more restrictive, complex and cumbersome than the Federal rules?

Uniformity & Clarity of Employment Practices
Whether you have 2 or 2,000 employees, maintaining a current, well-drafted Employee Handbook, provides your managers and employees with the ability to refer to your employment policies and procedures (rule book) when the employment questions arise. 

Your handbook should Promote & Communicate Your Company.
Our experience shows that new & existing employees react favorably to including the CEO's Welcome Message; the Company's Mission Statement; Overview of Long Term Business Objectives & Goals.

Do you want to reduce your company's liability? Call eqHR Solutions today for a no obligation consultation to review your company's handbook and employment policies or to fulfill other human resources needs.