Posts Tagged ‘employer best practices’
CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 33
CHOKE THE “JOKES” EEOC Settles Tex-Mex Restaurant Servers’ Sexual Harassment Case for $40,000 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination and harassment based on sex, including sexual orientation. On August 9, 2019, the EEOC announced the $40,000 resolution of its harassment lawsuit against Virginia-based El Tio Tex- Mex Grill […]
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California’s Threshold for Required Heat Illness Safeguards An employer’s obligations to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses starts at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 26.7 degrees Celsius to be precise). So say California’s Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) regulations. The regulations incorporate common sense rules for keeping workers safe: Have free, fresh, and “suitably […]
ARE SHOES REIMBURSABLE BUSINESS EXPENSES?
Woman showing ankle, 1908 A California appellate court recently addressed whether BJ’s Restaurants (BJ’s) improperly failed to reimburse its employees for the purchase of slip-resistant shoes. Server Krista Townley sued on behalf of herself and other similarly-affected hourly co-workers alleging BJ’s Restaurants (BJ’s) required them to wear black, slip-resistant, close-toed shoes for safety reasons without […]
AVOID DISCRIMINATORY JOB RECRUITMENT AND ADVERTISING
Workers, 1901 Advertising and recruiting of desired applicants are the first steps in the hiring process. Such outreach must not discriminate against members of any “protected class,” characteristics shielded by federal and state employment discrimination laws. In California, these include race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 32
Protect Workers from Injury – It’s the Law – and the Right Thing to Do While installing solar panels for Nexus Energy Systems, Inc., one of its workers fell 15 feet, landing on concrete and breaking his wrist and jaw. The resulting investigation yielded several Cal/OSHA citations, including one for a prior injury the company […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 31
RESIDENTIAL 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 […]
HAIRSTYLE DISCRIMINATION BANNED
New 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 […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 30
State 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 […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 29
General 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 […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 28
EEOC 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 […]