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California Employers Walloped By State Labor Agency
By Christopher W. Olmsted
It turns out that your Human Resources Director's anxiety over possible labor agency audits is not mere paranoia; the government really is out to get you. The California labor agency, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) released a report revealing that it dramatically increased enforcement actions and assessments in 2012. The trend will likely continue.
Assessments Skyrocketed
The DLSE assessed $25,278,887 for unpaid wages in 2012, a 419% increase over 2010 figures. Overtime wage assessments jumped to $13,324,098 in 2012, a 642% increase over 2010. According to the DLSE's May 2013 report, these figures represent the highest level of assessments in nearly a decade.
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Compensation Insights and Musings for 2014
We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from California business owners on the compensation trends for 2014. We're pleased to see the interest from and the ability for employers to finally begin to consider recognizing employees with competitive compensation packages after a long hiatus of layoffs, frozen salaries and salary reductions. So what is the rest of the country doing for 2014 merit budgets?
Our compensation sources report that base pay increases for 2014 will remain at about three percent, similar to the 2013 budgets according to the annual Compensation Planning Survey published by Buck Consultants. In addition, the WorldatWork Salary-Budget Survey shows U. S. employers' salary budget increases are projected to be 3.1 percent for 2014. WorldatWork reports that this would the be the first average increase above three percent since 2008.
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Employer's Liability Shows Up in Some of the Most Unusual Places
By Kim Silvers, SPHR-CA
A few recent California court of appeal decisions have us shaking our collective heads over the extended liability employers have for employees who are off the job and off company premises. We'll begin with a situation that occurred after a company holiday party - the facts and the outcome are not what you would expect....
The Marriott Del Mar Hotel hosted an employee party in December 2009. Employees were not required to attend, but many did, including Michael Landri, one of the Marriott's bartenders. Landri had a roaring good time during the party. He drank prior to arriving, brought a flask of whiskey to the event and consumed a lot of alcohol throughout the evening.
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