California Employer Deadline: January 1, 2020 Recent California law requires employers with five or more on payroll to provide sexual harassment prevention and resolution training to all managers and employees by January 1, 2020. We offer half-day on-site group seminars as a superior alternative to online training. We have developed our presentation from over 20…
Read moreRESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY NOT FEELING THE LOVE 708,521 Reasons to Pay Workers Legally Not having worker’s compensation insurance for five years was bad enough, but when the Labor Commissioner’s Office started investigating a workers’ compensation complaint against 53-bed Amore Retirement Living, it also discovered failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, and other wage and hour…
Read moreNew California Law Takes Effect January 1, 2020 California law has long-prohibited workplace racial discrimination against employees and applicants. The state is now the first to link natural hairstyles to race, thus protecting their wearers from disparate treatment. The Legislature based passage of revised Government Code 12926 on a finding that workplace dress and grooming…
Read moreState Settles Sexual Harassment Case with Cypress Police Department The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) defines sexual harassment as unwanted sexual advances, or visual, verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature. This includes same-sex harassment, offering employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors, or retaliating after receiving a negative response to sexual advances. On June…
Read moreStandard Workplace Practice With Our 2019 Updated Model Employee Handbook and Hire-to-Fire Forms “The Bowles Law employee manual creates very clear-cut policy and stable data for staff. They know the rules of the game because they are written. Management can more easily correct erring staff. Understandable, production-oriented standards of conduct mean employees can’t hit you…
Read moreGeneral Contractor and Property Owners Left Holding Bag Labor Code section 218.7, effective January 1, 2018, made general “direct” contractors (those delivering to property owners directly) responsible for wage payments to employees of subcontractors who fail to make those payments. However, direct contractors may be able to prevent such exposure through well-constructed written agreements with…
Read moreEEOC Settles Female Miner Discrimination and Retaliation Case For $690,000 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the $690,000 resolution of its gender-based lawsuit against Alaska gold mining outfit Northern Star LLC, formerly Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo (Pogo). The government alleged Pogo discriminated against female underground miner Hanna Hurst by refusing to promote her despite promoting male…
Read morePregnancy Discrimination Is a Really Bad Idea Pregnancy remains one of the most clearly protected classifications for employees, safeguarded not only under general disability laws, but also under laws enacted specifically to protect expectant women. See, for example, Pregnancy Accommodation in California (Nov 2018); Employers with 20 or More on Payroll Must Provide Expanded Parental…
Read moreFulfill Required Harassment Prevention Training in Live On-Site Seminars By requiring sexual harassment prevention training on an unprecedented scale by the end of this year, the California legislature has seen fit to make improved relations with employees a legal requirement. See, e.g., Stopping the Jerks and Lurks (April 2019). While the new law permits employers…
Read moreProperly Confronting the Chronically Negative Employee According to Wiktionary.org, a “Debbie Downer” is a “naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others.” Most seasoned managers will be all too familiar with how one negative individual can bring down the entire workforce’s morale. Employers are often reluctant to terminate someone just for a negative attitude,…
Read moreIf you are facing possible litigation or have an employee issue on which you need immediate guidance, call us to speak to one of our attorneys, or submit your question using our contact form.
