Dear California Employer:

Two female workers at a California-based company providing seasonal labor complained that they were ridiculed and threatened by their boss.

When the company did nothing about it, the 2 workers brought their grievance to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

A panel of administrative law judges found that the company did not properly supervise the boss—and required the business to pay a $90,000 judgment to the 2 women for emotional stress.

It's no secret that we live in the most litigious society in history. And that companies like yours are a favorite target for the media, attorneys, courts, disgruntled employees, and even job candidates.

California workers are particularly prone to complain about the company that employs them.

Last year, 36,166 employment litigation cases were heard in California courts ... more than 10% of all such cases in the country.

You can't afford to make mistakes that violate California employment law—and leave you vulnerable to lawsuits, fines, judgments, and bad PR. And now, you won't, thanks to...

Our award-winning HR advisory newsletter, California Employer Advisor, helps human resource professionals, business owners, and managers keep up-to-date with the continually changing state and federal laws governing your relationship with your employees.

Not only do we report on the important laws, management practices, and cases that impact your business, we also outline pragmatic, actionable ideas to help ensure full compliance, avoid lawsuits, and protect your company from financial losses.

"California Employer Advisor helped us prevent a lawsuit by an employee who claimed he should be paid overtime," writes one happy subscriber. "The newsletter provided very specific information that helped us show the person was actually exempt."

In each monthly issue of California Employer Advisor, you get cogent analysis of the latest developments in California and federal employment laws—along with clear guidance on how to achieve full compliance—way before you read about them in other publications.

Here's just a sampling of the timely updates and strategies you can access on our web site as a subscriber:

• The 6 most common pre-hiring mistakes companies make and how to avoid the lawsuits that could result from each. Plus: how to ask tough questions during job interviews without opening your organization up to discrimination claims.



• You don't want employees shopping on eBay or checking their stocks on company time. So you decide to monitor their Internet activity. But do you have a legal right to? Both the federal government and the state of California have explicit rules that govern your electronic monitoring practices. Do you know them all?



• Avoid these 6 errors when responding to employee complaints. Make even one and you could be slapped with a retaliation claim.



• Proposition 8 makes it illegal for same-sex couples to marry in California. But the 18,000+ same-sex marriages already performed in California will remain legally valid. Does that mean gay spouses and domestic partners have COBRA and HIPAA rights? The answer may surprise you.



• 10 essential clauses you must include in your employee arbitration agreements. Omit them at your peril.



• The recession is hurting your business, sales are down, and the CEO wants employees to take a pay cut. But watch out. Pay cuts can significantly depress morale, productivity, and retention of key employees. Get the straight talk on the management and legal aspects of reducing salaries and hourly rates.



• The 6 most common errors managers make, after an employee makes a complaint, that frequently result in retaliation claims.



• Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores recently paid out $255,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit, and Marshalls settled a similar case for $110,000. You can avoid their fate by knowing what conduct—and comments—might constitute sexual harassment under federal and California law.



• 5 tips for avoiding family responsibility discrimination that penalizes workers who are caregivers to children, elderly parents, or ill relatives.



• An up-to-date employee handbook or personnel policy manual is your best defense when negotiating employment issues. Learn little-known tips for developing effective personnel policies and avoiding common employee handbook design and updating pitfalls.



• 3 money-saving strategies for improving workplace safety on a tight budget. No expensive new equipment or plant renovations required.



• What will happen to your organization when a lawsuit is brought against your firm for failing to comply with workplace policies and HR cannot produce supporting documentation? Here are the records you must collect and maintain throughout each worker's employment history—and how long you need to hang onto each.



• Does your CEO view HR as a profit center or a cost center? Discover how to measure and calculate key performance metrics that can demonstrate the bottom line value of HR to your business.



• HR is often called in to defuse workplace conflicts, but intervening and settling disputes isn't easy. Here are proven techniques for resolving conflicts with positive results through informed discussion as well as formal facilitations.



• Age bias claims are one of the fastest-growing types of complaints filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—and the EEOC has made it clear that it intends to take action against employers who terminate or fail to hire on the basis of age. Follow these guidelines on how to hire, train, evaluate, promote, and compensate employees without violating age bias laws and stop complaints before they happen.



• 7 steps to reducing employee stress in the workplace. These tips can help reduce fatigue and depression, avoid heart disease, and increase worker productivity.



• You've been cited for a violation by Cal/OSHA, but it's only a few hundred dollars, so your CEO wants to just pay the penalty rather than spend time and money defending the claim. Learn how to appeal successfully and why you should do so despite the small monetary penalty of the claim.



• Know when an employee's religious beliefs, practices, and observances must be accommodated—and when you can say "no." Plus: how to ensure that turning down a religious accommodation request doesn't result in a viable retaliation claim.



• Should you offer your employees a paid time off (PTO) program? The answer may surprise you. Plus: best ways to handle unused PTO days when employees retire or are fired—and how the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can affect your PTO program.



• "Red flags" you should listen for during exit interviews that predict possible discrimination, harassment, or wage/hour claims by departing workers—and how to defuse the likelihood of a future lawsuit. Plus: questions you should never, ever ask during an exit interview.



• And much, much more...

Newspapers, business magazines, and the web can let you know about the pitfalls and perils of California business law after the fact.

But California Employer Advisor alerts you to important news and developments in California employment law as they happen—through both our monthly issues and timely e-mail updates.

Our HR and legal experts interpret the laws and cases, making clear what they mean to your organization and identifying potential threats you need to know about.

Here are just some of the timely articles our subscribers enjoyed in recent issues of California Employer Advisor.

But don't worry about having missed them, because your no-risk subscription to California Employer Advisor includes unlimited 24/7 access to our vast library of articles and resources on California employment law compliance—all archived on our searchable subscribers-only web site.

That way, you can find and read any or all of these important articles—and get the information and guidance you need to make informed HR decisions.

Including:


• 15 steps to reduce bullying in the workplace. A supervisor who pushes his workers around too much is a lawsuit waiting to happen. This plan can stop it cold.



• Important changes to the COBRA rules mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Here are the vital notices you must send to employees about their coverage.



• Can giving a lukewarm recommendation to an under-performing ex-employee come back to haunt you—as a lawsuit?



• 10 most common mistakes made when using independent contractors and leased employees—and how to avoid each.



• Record unemployment in California may tempt you to lowball salary offers for new hires in today's tough job market. But here's why you should think twice before doing so.



• How to avoid the appearance of bias—and avoid a costly lawsuit—when laying off workers.



• New bill could make it tougher for you to keep unions out of your shop. Here's what you need to know about what's coming down the pike.



• Is diabetes considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Read what the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers California) has ruled on the subject.



• An employee reports what he honestly believes is a violation of EPA regulations at your location. Is he protected under the whistleblower laws even though he was wrong—and his error caused you headaches?



• How to legally avoid paying nonexempt workers overtime when they work more than 8 hours a day.



• California may soon determine that it's not enough to give employees time for meal and rest breaks. You may have to ensure that they take them—and even keep records to prove it.



• How to keep employees' use of their cell phones to make personal calls during business hours under control.



• Red flags that tell you an employee out on legitimate leave may be trying to stretch her worker's comp benefits.



• Proven techniques for identifying workplace hazards and improving safety that don't have to cost you an arm and a leg.



• Improve employee retention rates with exit interviews that reveal surprising reasons why workers leave you.



• 4 key steps to determining whether a manager, supervisor, administrative assistant, or other employee is exempt from overtime.



• How to avoid being sued for negligence by a third party if one of your employees makes a mistake or acts in a reckless manner.



• 10 activities totally unrelated to work, sick days, or maternity leave that California employment law requires you to grant employees unpaid time off for. Say "no" and you're in violation.



• How to set up flexible schedules for employees using an "alternative workweek" program that enables you to avoid paying daily overtime.



• Reduce absenteeism and tardiness from stress-related illness up to 10% with these proven strategies for starting an Employee Assistance Program.



• How not to get slapped with a wage-hour lawsuit in California. Plus: damage control steps to take after an audit reveals potentially bad news.



• A model holiday-pay policy you can easily tailor to your organization's needs. Shows which holidays your employees get off—and which you do not pay for.



• How to perform a thorough—and legally compliant—background check on job applicants.



• Which of your IT workers are entitled to overtime pay? The answer may surprise you.



• Swine flu has been declared the first official pandemic in 41 years. While there's no need to panic, there's every need to prepare your organization to survive the worst—following these simple steps.



• And much, much more—all instantly available to you on the subscribers-only web site when you click below now...

A one-year subscription to California Employer Advisor gives you full access to a wealth of legal and HR resources to help you comply with every employment-related state and federal law, guideline, and regulation your business must follow:

• California Employer Advisor...12 monthly eight-page issues, each loaded with the latest employment law news, guidance, ready-to-use forms, and step-by-step advice on hiring, firing, promotions, compensation, benefits, and more. Reading time: 15 minutes per issue.



• E-Alerts...Twice-weekly E-Mail Alerts that keep you up-to-date on late-breaking news and important employment law developments and HR news between monthly issues.



• Subscribers-Only Web site...24/7, password-protected access to a vast archive of articles from the California Employer Advisor monthly newsletter and timely E-Alerts, search able by topic.



• Free Bonus Reports...order now and get 2 FREE Employer Guides, Terminating Employees: a 21-Point Risk Assessment Checklist and Who's Entitles to Overtime: How to Avoid Mistakes When Classifying California Employees (but see my P.S. for an even better deal).



• Full Subscriber Satisfaction Protection...you may cancel at any time—even on the last day of your subscription—for a complete refund of your entire fee—not the wimpy "prorated refund" on unmailed issues other publishers offer. That way, you can't lose!

The regular subscription rate for California Employer Advisor is $499 for a full year of service.

But order now on a risk-free trial basis and your investment is only $399—a savings of $100 off the regular rate. That's less than you'd pay an attorney specializing in California employment law for just an hour or two of his or her time.

It's like having a crack team of experts on retainer to answer your questions about California employment law compliance all year long at a cost of around a dollar a day—less than the price of your morning cup of coffee.

And that's what you pay only if you're fully satisfied with the practical, California-specific employment law tips and guidance you get from us. If you're not, our service costs you zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. Because you can...

As soon as you click the Order button below, we'll grant you immediate, unlimited access to the California Employer Advisor subscribers-only web site.

We'll also rush your first issue to you—along with instructions for downloading your FREE Bonus Report (see my P.S. for details on this valuable special bonus worth $49).

You can use California Employer Advisor FREE for one week, because we won't charge your credit card until the 7-day trial period is over.

If you decide California Employer Advisor is not for you, just let us know within 7 days.

We'll cancel your subscription, your 7-day trial will have cost you nothing, and that will be the end of the matter.

After the 7-day trial period, California Employer Advisor must continue to please you.

If not, you may cancel at any time—even during the last day of your one-year subscription—and get all your money refunded.

And by "all," we mean a full and prompt refund of your entire subscription fee—NOT the wimpy prorated refund on "unmailed issues" that so many other publishers offer.

That way, you risk nothing.

This unconditional money-back offer is pretty risky for us. Risk-free for you.

But that's the way it should be: we don't want to keep even one dime for our service unless you agree it's easily worth 10 times what you paid for it.

• A federal appeals court upheld a jury verdict ordering a telecom company to pay $756,000 for firing 2 customer service technicians who attended a Jehovah's Witness convention



• A company searched an employee's office without his presence, permission, or knowledge. The employee sued—and was awarded a $436,000 judgment against his employer....



• At another company, employees complained because they had missed coffee and lunch breaks. The company has agreed to pay a settlement to workers for the missed breaks—to the tune of $3.3 million...

Given this hostile environment, you need to move swiftly to bullet-proof your personnel policies...shield your corporation against legal liability...transform HR from a cost center into a profit center—all while hiring and retaining the best and brightest employees, keeping their morale high, building their loyalty, and maximizing their productivity and performance.

Now you can. With a risk-free subscription to California Employer Advisor—the business owner's, manager's, and HR professional's authoritative resource on complying with California state and federal employment law—and making those laws work to your advantage.

But the longer you delay, the longer you leave yourself open to frivolous lawsuits—with big judgments and settlements that are anything but frivolous—from employees and attorneys looking to milk your company for all they can.

So what are you waiting for?

To activate your risk-free subscription to California Employer Advisor, call toll-free 800-695-7178 today. Or click below now:

Sincerely,

Matthew T. Humphrey, President
Employer Resource Institute

P.S. Quick-Response Bonus! Reply today and get a FREE Bonus Report,
50 Secrets for Preventing Employee Lawsuits (value: $49).

In it, you'll discover:

• 6 steps you can take to prevent employee lawsuits before the candidate is even offered a job—page 2.



• How to make sure nonexempt employees don't work unapproved overtime (which you still have to pay them for)—page 21.



• 10 smart termination practices that can protect your company against frivolous lawsuits from disgruntled employees who have been fired—page 8.



• How to prevent employees from stealing company secrets or compromising sensitive business data—page 20.



• 10 ways to protect your company and minimize potential financial losses when an employee sues you—page 10.



• How to ensure that disputes with employees are settled in an agreeable manner and legal environment friendly to the employer—page 18.



• 8 steps to establishing "at-will" employment terms that enable you to terminate an employee without notice or giving a reason—page 2.



• How to accommodate employees with mental or physical disabilities in accordance with all federal and state employment laws —page 18.



• The 25 most common problems and legal issues that arise when employing hourly and professional workers—and one good way to handle each —page 4.



• How to prevent employee discrimination, harassment, and retaliation—page 14.



• Can you provide comp time off in lieu of overtime payment? See page 6 for the answer.



• And more....

To activate your no-risk trial subscription to California Employer Advisor—and download your FREE Bonus Report—click here now: