Teresa McQueen, Author at Western Growers Association - Page 28 of 29 Western Growers Association

Teresa McQueen

Western Growers, Corporate Counsel III

Teresa McQueen is Corporate Counsel III for Western Growers. In that capacity she provides advice and counsel to the organization on employment law matters and commercial trade practices. She also provides legal guidance to Western Growers members on employment law, human resources, and commercial agreements, as well as providing law-related educational opportunities and overseeing annual […]

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Posts By: Teresa McQueen

Western Growers’ Updated 2022 Personnel Procedures Manual Now Available

The 2022 Personnel Procedures Manual provides vital and accurate information for Human Resources Department professionals and managers to ensure their organization remains compliant amid the ever-shifting landscape of labor law. Updated topics for 2022 include changes impacting workplace safety, wage and hour, protected leave, post-termination issues, workplace notices and recordkeeping. WG…

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Best Practices: Minimum Wage Reminders

Employers are required to pay all nonexempt employees in compliance with state, federal and local wage and hour laws. This section provides an overview of applicable state, federal and local laws governing the payment of wages and overtime pay. Minimum Wage State minimum wage rates differ but are higher than the federal minimum wage. Employers ...

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Preventing Discrimination: The Workers’ Compensation Trap

The Scenario: Employee sustains a work-related injury and files a workers’ compensation claim. While the claim is pending, the employee is declared temporarily totally disabled (“TTD”) for one reason or another. After receiving notice of the TTD finding, the employer, believing the employee to be “totally disabled” (as opposed to “temporarily totally disabled) either refuses ...

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Incentivizing Vaccines for a Safe & Healthy Workforce

The incentivizing of a safe and healthy nation has finally reached the fields and offices of America. For months communities across America have tried their hand at encouraging those who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccination to step up and out of their comfort zones. Restaurants, bars, local governments – offering everything from shots ...

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Employer Milestones: Summer 2021

The start of the pandemic lockdown saw employers facing a whirlwind of activity as they scrambled to create remote work rules, initiate masking and social distancing mandates and adapt to rapid fire legislative changes. As employers across the state begin contemplating “back to work” protocols it looks like another flurry of activity is on the ...

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Vaccination Tracking Guidelines

Eager for your workers to get vaccinated and return to the workplace? You are not alone. As employers explore options for returning employees to the workplace, questions linger about how to track who has – and who has not – been vaccinated. Employers need to be mindful of how they ask for vaccination-related information and ...

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Some Things Remain

While many COVID-19 requirements are changing, others remain the same. Below are a few important reminders of statewide mandates that – for the foreseeable future – remain in effect. California’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) law remains in effect until September 30, 2021. As a reminder, employees are entitled to SPSL when an employee ...

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Santa Clara County Mandates Vaccination Tracking

June 1, 2021 marks the start of Santa Clara County’s new vaccination tracking mandate. A May 18, 2021 Order of the Santa Clara County Health Officer requires businesses to comply with specific safety measures, focused on COVID-19 case reporting, vaccination and the use of face coverings indoors. Taking seriously its intent to protect the community ...

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Arbitration Update

In a recent ruling the Ninth Circuit (covering California and Arizona) upheld a motion to compel arbitration by a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement (Franklin v. Community Regional Medical Center, FKA, No. 19-17570 (9th Cir. 2021)). Franklin, a contract nurse employed by a staffing agency and assigned to Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC), filed a ...

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Form I-9 Best Practices

In April 2020, when the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced it was discontinuing its practice of issuing Employer Correction Request Notices (e.g., “no match” letters), many employers in key industries such as Agriculture were relieved. However, relief from the administrative burden and perceived risk such notice created quickly gave way to confusion about ongoing verification…

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Preparing for a Hot Summer!

With summer temperatures on the rise, state and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administrations are reminding all employers to be prepared to protect outdoor workers from heat illness. Heat illness is more likely to occur during the transitional period between spring and summer as temperatures start to climb and workers are not yet accustomed to ...

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The Hiring Process: Recruiting

The goal of effective recruiting is to find the right person for any job opening. Effective recruiting practices that consider the specific needs of the organization with an eye toward limiting potential legal risk, save time as well as money. A well thought out recruiting process allows the employer time to identify its workforce needs, ...

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The FLSA Agricultural Exemption

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Alabama, Florida and Georgia), in deciding Ramirez v. Statewide Harvesting & Hauling, LLC (May 21, 2021), finds under certain circumstances, work performed by farm laborers that is separate from their usual agricultural activities, (e.g., “necessities trips”) may entitle them to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ...

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Are You Ready?

Many local minimum wages increases are set to take effect across California on July 1, 2021. To assure continued compliance with applicable wage and hour laws, employers must be complaint by the July 1st effective date. Here are a few tips to get you up-to-speed: Determine if your business is located within a city or ...

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Initiating the Interview Process

No matter the employer’s hiring protocols—conducting interviews, contacting references, or initiating background checks—it is up to the designated hiring team to determine which applicant(s) will be selected for review and ultimately hired. The first step of this process is to initiate a review of the pool of applicants and delete those who clearly do not ...

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No More “Use-it-or-Lose-it” for Colorado Employers

The Colorado Supreme Court recently (June 14, 2021) issued a landmark ruling that an employer must pay an employee’s earned but unused vacation pay upon separation from employment. The ruling goes even further to provide that any agreement or policy forfeiting unused vacation pay is void as a matter of law. Like many states Colorado ...

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New EEOC Guidance on Gender/Sex Discrimination Protections

On June 15, 2021 the EEOC released its updated guidance on protections extended to LGBTQ+[1] workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Title VII prohibits a private employer from discriminating against any employee because of a protected classification (e.g., race, color, national origin, and sex). The EEOC’s latest guidelines ...

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Conducting Compliant Background Checks

Many employers find it worthwhile to check the references, job history, personal character, criminal conviction history or credit history of an individual prior to making the decision to hire or promote. This can be done through an in-house investigation using public records or by an outside third-party consumer reporting agency (CRA). Initiating background checks and ...

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Jennifer Abruzzo Confirmed as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board

On July 21, 2021, Jennifer Abruzzo was confirmed by the U.S. Senate (51-50) to a four-year term as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Previously serving as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel for the NLRB during the Obama administration, Ms. Abruzzo most recently served as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives ...

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Conducting an Effective Interview

By asking the right questions employers can gain a wealth of information about the job candidate and their qualifications for the position sought. Interviewing also allows an employer to compare potential candidates with one another so that it can choose the applicant that best fits its needs. Below are some tips and suggestions for conducting ...

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