Posts Tagged ‘Employer Rights’
CALIFORNIA’S EXPANDED IMMIGRATION-RELATED PROTECTIONS
New for 2014 While employers are barred by federal law from knowingly employing unauthorized immigrants, companies are also barred from treating any immigrant unfairly, whether or not authorized to work in the U.S. New California laws for 2014 provide the strongest anti-retaliation protections for immigrant workers in the country. This legislation penalizes employers who threaten […]
A CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO NEW LAWS 2014: MILITARY AND VETERAN STATUS
Protected Against Workplace Discrimination, Harassment Beginning on January 1, 2014, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) will protect an individual’s “military and veteran status” against employment discrimination and harassment. This new FEHA provision defines military and veteran status as “a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, […]
ON-THE-JOB SHOPPING
California Employers Must Pay Wages and Mileage for “Off-Hours” Work-Related Tasks In response to our article “Travel Pay in California,” a California employer has asked how he should pay his employees for time spent and for their personal vehicle mileage incurred while shopping for company supplies. Compensation for All Hours Worked: Of course, an employer […]
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 […]
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: […]
NEW CA LABOR LAWS 2013 CALIFORNIA ALTERS THE MEANING OF WRITTEN SALARY AGREEMENTS FOR HOURLY EMPLOYEES
The California Legislature has made an important change, effective January 1, 2013, eliminating some of the ability of businesses to negotiate wage arrangements with hourly workers. In February, 2011, we summarized the Court of Appeal decision in Arechiga v. Dolores 192 California Appellate Reports, 4th Series (Cal.App.4th) 567 (2011). See, “Written Salary Agreements and Overtime.” […]
NO ATTORNEY FEES AWARDS FOR MEAL BREAK AND REST PERIOD LAWSUITS
The California Supreme Court has promptly followed its game-changing Brinker decision with another important ruling, specifically limiting the rights of workers to collect attorney fees from their employers in lawsuits over allegedly missed meal breaks and rest periods. As we reported in “Brinker: California’s Meal Break Breakthrough, Employers are No Longer the Lunch Police,” California […]