Blog
WHEN DOES THE WORKDAY END?
U.S. Supreme Court Finds An Employer Need Not Pay Wages for Mandatory End-of-the Day Security Checks Under federal law, employees may or may not earn wages for preliminary actions at the beginning or “postliminary” activities at the close of a work day. The issue is determined on close attention to the context on a case-by-case […]
EMPLOYERS DUTIES TO REASONABLY ACCOMODATE WORKER DISABILITIES
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits companies employing five or more persons from: 1) discriminating against an employee due to his or her physical disability; 2) failing to make reasonable accommodation for a worker’s known physical disability; 3) failing to engage in a prompt and good faith interactive process with a disabled employee […]
BOWLES LAW WEBSITE
New and Improved We are proud to present a fully overhauled office website. In addition to updated attorney profiles, our firm’s experience and values, and available services, we offer a several pages on the history and evolution of employment law as well as a News section containing a fully compiled and indexed library of over […]
CALIFORNIA LAW PROTECTS UNDOCUMENTED EMPLOYEES FROM WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
As we have described in California’s Expanded Immigration-Related Protections and California Extends Protections for Whistleblowing Employees, several California laws protect employees, regardless of undocumented status, from actual or threatened retaliation for demanding workplace rights. These state protections of immigrant workers, some of the strongest nationwide, would seem at odds with the federal law (Title 8, […]
CALIFORNIA SICK LEAVE BENEFIT “CLEAN-UP” LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
Proposed Amendments Aim to Modify the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act Prior to Its July 1, 2015 Effective Date Our article “Mandatory Paid Sick Leave For California Employees” (Mandatory article) describes the California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (the Act) which on July 1, 2015 will require all California employers — regardless of […]
SAN FRANCISCO MINIMUM WAGE ESCALATES TO $12.25 ON MAY 1, 2015
City Employers Must Also Post Poster Specifying this Requirement Commencing May 1, 2015, all employers (regardless of where located) must pay wages of at least $12.25 per hour to each employee who performs work in San Francisco (including temporary and part-time employees). As discussed in our prior blog article San Francisco Minimum Wage Escalates to […]
HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION AMENDMENTS ARE LIKELY TO TAKE EFFECT MAY 1, 2015
Likely to Take Effect May 1, 2015 — The Heat Is On For California Employers As referenced in our previous article, Required Heat Illness Prevention for Outdoor Worksites, California’s heat illness safety regulations currently require employers with outdoor workers to provide access to ample drinking water and a shaded rest area when the temperature exceeds 85 […]
OAKLAND PAID SICK LEAVE LAW PROVIDES GREATER BENEFITS THAN THE UPCOMING STATE REQUIREMENT
Measure Took Effect March 2, 2015 Effective March 2, 2015, Oakland’s paid sick leave ordinance (Measure FF), requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits to part-time, full-time and temporary employees who perform at least two hours of work in a particular workweek within the city limits. This new law provides benefits greater than those […]
CHANGING TIMES DEPARTMENT
New Definition of Spouse Under Federal Family Medical Leave Act Now Includes Same Sex Couples Prior to 2013, same sex spouses had no FMLA leave benefits regardless of whether their residence state recognized same sex marriages. However, U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v. Windsor struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act which […]
OAKLAND MINIMUM WAGE ESCALATES TO $12.25
Rate Effective March 2, 2015 Starting March 2, 2015, employers (regardless of where located) must pay wages of at least $12.25 per hour to each employee who performs work within Oakland, California (including part-time employees). This minimum wage requirement, pursuant to Measure FF and set forth in Oakland Municipal Code section 53.92.020, applies to any […]