Blog
LIBERIAN RAIN
A West African Chronicle July 15-30, 2023
It is now 2:00 a.m. on a Monday (July 17), Jay and I splashing over the rain-cratered Robertsfield – Monrovia highway. It has been a 30-plus hour procession of vans, mega-baggage hauling, security gauntlets, late and missed flights, hasty plan Bs, gate waiting, blessed aisle seats, and at last back to ground, headed west. Out there in the full blackness are the small settlements, the stick-and-thatch, dirt floor dwellings hopefully holding off the deluge.
RELIGIOUS RULING FAVORS EMPLOYEES
Supreme Court Requires Accommodation Unless Substantial Cost Burden
Civil rights laws protect employees from discrimination based on various classifications, including religion. Employers must provide religious accommodations unless doing so would create an “undue hardship.” Such accommodation could include such things as time off for religious observance, not working on the particular sabbath, or exceptions to dress requirements.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 36
ORGAN AND BONE MARROW DONOR PAID LEAVE POLICY
California employers with 15 or more on payroll must provide eligible employees with up to 30 business days of paid leave — and an additional 30 business days of unpaid leave — for organ donation and up to five business days of paid leave for bone marrow donation.
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATORS, EXPANDED
Third-Party Service Companies May Be Liable as “Employers”
For companies with five or more on payroll, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects workers from employer discrimination based on protected classifications such as race, religion, gender, and disability.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 35
DISABILITY LEAVE POLICY
If a California-based employee requires a temporary leave as a reasonable accommodation in connection with a disability not covered under PDL, CFRA, FMLA or workers compensation laws, the employer should grant it to the extent it can do so without causing undue hardship on the business.
I-9 RULES CHANGE AGAIN
Remote Verification Possible for E-Verify Users
Effective July 31, 2023, U.S. Immigrations and Customs (ICE) once again required employers to verify all I-9 document submissions in person, ending the remote verification flexibility permitted during the pandemic. See No More Room For Zoom: I-9 Rules Are Tightening July 31, 2023: Real McCoy Rule (June 16, 2023). Employers had until August 30, 2023 to physically examine all documents verified remotely during that flexible time period.
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 71
PROTECT THE KIDS
McDonald’s Franchisees Cited for Child Labor Violations
The federal Department of Labor has cited five McDonald’s franchisees for child labor violations involving close to 400 children at 78 locations in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio, including two ten-year-olds – legally not permitted to work – working as late as 2 A.M.
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 34
LACTATION ACCOMMODATION POLICY
California requires all employers to provide lactating employees with reasonable time and adequate space to express breast milk in private at or near the employee’s usual work area. The location, which cannot be a bathroom, must have access to electricity or alternative devices to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump and be safe, clean, and hazard-free, with a place to sit and a surface to place a breast pump and personal items. The company must also provide access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator or another cooling device for storing milk.
CHECKS IN THE CITY
Los Angeles Now Requires Written “Freelance Worker” Agreements
California leads the nation in restricting the kinds of workers validly classified as independent contractors/“non-employees.” See, e.g., California’s Independent Contractors – An Endangered Species by Newly Enacted “AB 5” (October 4, 2019).
HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 33
PREGNANCY DISABILITY LEAVES POLICY
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to:
Provide unpaid pregnancy disability leave (PDL) when an employee is medically disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions as determined by the employee’s healthcare provider for up to four months of leave per pregnancy (i.e., the working days normally worked in one-third of a year or 17 1/3 weeks);
Reasonably accommodate medical needs related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions (such as temporarily modifying work duties, providing a stool or chair, or allowing more frequent breaks);
Transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position (if available) or duties if medically needed; and
Refrain from discriminating, harassing, or retaliating based on pregnancy.