Archive for the ‘Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation’ Category
SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGES FELL SAN DIEGO’S MAYOR
A Lesson in the Consequences of Alleged Quid Pro Quo Misconduct San Diego Mayor Bob Filner resigns today in the wake of sexual harassment allegations from some 18 women over recent weeks. These include a former communications director, his former deputy campaign manager, a retired admiral, the president of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, […]
EMPLOYMENT LIABILITY FOR WORKPLACE HARASSMENT
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Slims Down Super-Sized Supervisor Definition Under federal and California law, employer liability for workplace harassment can depend entirely on the legal definition of a “supervisor.” The U.S. Supreme Court has recently clarified that definition under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Vance v. Ball State University (June […]
PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA
Special Overtime and “Room and Board” Rules Apply On our article “Caring for Caregivers,” a recent visitor to our website asked: “How much is housing and meal value [in my area] for a private household worker under California Wage Order 15?” As in every area of employment law, the answer of course depends on the […]
EMBARRASSING, DISRUPTIVE AND EXPENSIVE TO RESOLVE
Harassment in the Workplace is Illegal Prevention is The Only Viable Solution Current regulations tighten trainer qualifications and impose heightened interactivity requirements, including questions that assess learning, skill-building activities and numerous hypothetical scenarios about harassment with follow-up discussion questions. We are offering an updated in-house, two-plus hour seminar, at your location, that will fulfill these […]
WHO IS AN “EMPLOYEE” UNDER CALIFORNIA’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW?
Some Volunteers May be Covered The California Court of Appeal has decided that the state’s workplace anti-discrimination law did not protect a former Los Angeles Police Department volunteer police reserve officer. Estrada v. City of Los Angeles, published July 24, 2013. However, the result would likely be the opposite for a private business in similar […]
TRAVEL PAY REVISITED
Setting and Calculating Compensation for Job-Related Travel Time A California worker recently asked how his employer should pay him for job-related travel time expended before and then after a full eight hours of labor at a remote location. He wrote: “If I drove 5-1/2 hours, then worked 8, then drove 5 more hours, wouldn’t my […]
AVOIDING WORKPLACE HELL
For Heaven’s Sake: Document, Document, Document! Lawyers are in sales, they are not in management. They don’t sell widgets to consumers of course. Rather, competing attorneys each “sell” his/her client’s construction of events and actions to juries and judges, with the most plausible version of such occurrences the winner. This firm defends employers daily on […]
PROVING WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION IS NOW MORE DIFFICULT IN CALIFORNIA
State Supreme Court Issues an Employer-Favorable Decision in a “Mixed Motive” Case In February, 2013, the California Supreme Court decided that even where illegal discrimination (e.g., racial, gender, age, religion) was one of a number of motivating factors in terminating a worker, the employer will not be liable for damages if it can show the […]
REQUIRED FMLA POSTER CHANGE
Employers with 50 or More Workers Beginning March 8, 2013, employers with 50 or more employees and subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) must display a new poster. The change is prompted by new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations. This new “Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical […]
NEW CA LABOR LAWS 2013 RELIGIOUS DRESS AND GROOMING AND EMPLOYERS’ INCREASED DUTIES TO ACCOMODATE
Effective January 1, 2013, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) expands the definition of potentially protected religious beliefs and practices to include “religious dress and grooming practices.” Employers also must now meet a much more stringent standard to deny accommodation of religious practices as an undue hardship to the business. Religious Dress and Grooming: […]