Archive for the ‘Employee Policies, Handbook, Forms’ Category
PREVENTING WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
ACCOMMODATING DISABILITIES, MADE SIMPLE – New Guidelines Package Available for California Employers The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to engage in an “interactive process,” i.e., a timely, good faith communication to explore if and how to reasonably accommodate a physically or mentally disabled worker in order to […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 3
Construction Company Sued for $6,300,338 – Alleged Misclassification of Independent Contractors The California Labor Commissioner has sued Glendale-based Calcrete Construction, Inc. claiming $6,300,338 for the company’s willful misclassification of some 175 persons as independent contractors as well as other wage violations. The Commissioner credits the Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee, a union-affiliated non-profit organization monitoring workplace compliance, […]
REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO PAY FOR SICK DAYS; A NATIONAL TREND
PAID SICK LEAVE BENEFITS, A NATIONWIDE LIST – Is Your Business Affected? Currently, no federal paid sick leave law exists. However, over the last decade, many states, counties and cities have passed distinct laws requiring covered employers to provide such benefits to designated workers. Businesses employing persons in multiple covered locations may face conflicting requirements for […]
WHAT IS YOUR LACTATION LOCATION?
San Francisco Workplace Ordinance – Directs Time and Space for Nursing Mothers San Francisco is the first California city to enact an ordinance requiring private employers to provide lactation breaks and rooms to employees who are nursing mothers. Effective January 1, 2018, all non-governmental employers under San Francisco’s “Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance” must provide […]
ASKING FOR JOB APPLICANT AGE IS A NO-NO
California’s Updated Guidelines for Hiring Interviews and Applications California employers must comply with increasingly complex anti-discrimination laws. See, New Transgender Rights in the Workplace (July, 2017), High Times in California (April, 2017), and Banning the Box in Los Angeles (March, 2017). To further aid management in determining a person’s job qualifications without violating the applicant’s […]
EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN
San Francisco Bars Employers Asking Applicants for Pay History Taking a cue from the California Equal Pay Act (2016), San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has passed a city-wide “Parity in Pay Ordinance” promoting gender wage equality by restrictions on what an employer can ask a job applicant on his/her pay history. Effective July 1, 2018, […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 1
A Minimum Wage and Overtime Recovery For Three Times Amount Claimed California was among the first states to require a minimum hourly wage, 16 cents in 1916. Federal law finally joined the trend in 1938. Now, cities and counties are enacting ordinances for ever-higher minimums. See, The History of Minimum Wage Laws, and Location, Location, Location…Location […]
NEW TRANSGENDER RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE
Expanded California Regulations Effective July 1, 2017 California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently heeded Dylan’s lyric “the times they are a-changin’” and released Regulations Regarding Transgender Identity and Expression. Effective July 1, 2017, the new regulations expand existing protections under FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act) for “gender identity” and “gender expression” […]
I-9 FORM REVISED YET AGAIN
Just When You Thought You Had the Right Form, Feds Issue New One The federal government requires employers to verify identity and work authorization of their employees using a Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) with certain supporting documentation. After revising the form on November 14, 2016, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on […]
MIND THE STINK
The Consequences of Failing to Reasonably Accommodate Worker Disability What happens when an employer ignores requests from a disabled employee for reasonable accommodation? In one recent case, a $3 million jury verdict was the result. Caltrans analyst, John Barrie, sued his employer for failure to accommodate his severe allergies to chemicals, such as cleaning agents and […]