Hearing Disabled Applicants Deserve Equal Consideration The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. An employer may not refuse to hire an otherwise qualified person because of a disability unless it is an insurmountable impediment to performing the job in question. On…
Read moreDon’t Skimp on Workplace Safety Measures Once again, Cal/OSHA has cited an employer for the death of an employee resulting from ignored safety measures. In March 2018, a GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. garbage collection worker was driving on the right side of a waste collection truck in San Jose. While making a turn, he fell out…
Read moreHow Not to Make a First Impression Human resources professionals have limited time and attention to review job resumes. According to an August 24, 2018 nationwide CareerBuilder survey of more than 1,100 industry-wide hiring managers and HR professionals, the majority spend less than a minute looking over the typical offering. According to the survey, job-seekers…
Read moreHERE GOES NOTHING How to Pass the Unpaid Intern Test In today’s tight labor market, employers may be tempted to offer unpaid internships to high school or college students. Before doing so, employers should carefully evaluate whether such interns legitimately qualify as unpaid. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the California Division of Labor…
Read moreEmployers and Background Check Companies Must Distribute New Model “Summary of Rights” Form Employers are already tightly regulated on obtaining an applicant’s or employee’s credit information. Companies may only seek consumer credit reporting agency disclosure on credit-worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity in connection with ● specified job positions including managerial executives, ● jobs involving…
Read moreEEOC Settles Male Gender Discrimination Case For $1.1 Million The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the $1.1 million resolution of its class action lawsuit against world-leading cosmetic company Estée Lauder. The government alleged Estée Lauder discriminated against a class of 210 new fathers under its paid parental leave policy. Although no federal…
Read moreKeeping Employee Tardiness and Absences to a Minimum It would seem unnecessary to have a written policy requiring workers to show up in order to keep their jobs and be paid. Yet employers often experience problems with no shows and tardiness, so it’s best to issue clear written directives mandating attendance, laying out work hours and…
Read moreEmployers Must Pay for All Minutes Worked Before and After Shifts Employers who require workers to perform short tasks before or after clocking out for their shift will now need to rethink this practice, even if it takes only an extra minute or so per day to boot up or turn off a computer and…
Read moreLabor Enforcement Task Force Targeting “Underground Economy” The Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF), a coalition of California agencies directed by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), has been targeting the “underground economy” for violation of employment laws since 2012. Members include the Labor Commissioner’s Department (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement), Cal/OSHA, Employment Development Department, Department…
Read moreEmployee Privacy on Social Media California law prohibits employer access to the personal social media accounts of its employees. “Social media” is defined as “an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet…
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