Posts Tagged ‘Employment Agreements’
TAKE THE LEAD
Model Employee Handbook and Forms; COVID-19 Policies As many California employers welcome back workers laid off by pandemic conditions, best practices include ensuring policies and forms are up-to-date. We are daily guiding managers through this process with particular eye on sound COVID-19 protocols. Our model forms include: Pandemic recovery and prevention procedures; Paid sick leave […]
THE POST-PANDEMIC WORKPLACE
COVID-19 Motivated Expansions to Our Model Employee Handbook and Forms The pandemic wind down is inevitable. We continue to assist employers to plan and implement sound policies and protocols as business workforces return under COVID-19’s receding shadow. A current, thorough employee policy manual (handbook) and complementary written internal procedures and forms covering all major aspects […]
TELECOMMUTING IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Employers are taking various steps to help offset the economic repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic, such as providing employees with the use of paid sick leave, paid vacation time, and telecommuting. A well-written telecommuting policy permits managers and rank-and-file workers alike to know where they stand. It should minimally address these points: Identifying the equipment […]
“AT WILL” EMPLOYMENT A THREE-MINUTE HISTORY
A concept born with the 1800s Industrial Revolution , “at will” employment is proclaimed to survive in every American state except Montana as the right of either employer or employee to terminate their relationship for any or no reason at any time, with or without advance notice. Yet, the principle has changed significantly over the […]
THE MYSTERY OF IT ALL
Lony Chaney, 1920 Employed or Independent? California Offers AB5 Answers The hottest California employment question of late: do independent contractors still exist? The California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex decision turned independent classification on its head, imposing a strict “ABC” contrary to decades of law and custom. The legislature followed suit with Assembly Bill (AB) 5, […]
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION GET SMART(ER)
Order Our 2020 Updated Model Employee Handbook and Hire-to-Fire Forms Over the past two decades, we have developed and refined a “soup-to-nuts” employee handbook and package of basic hire-to-fire forms and policies. Implementation of these forms and policies will greatly improve a company’s legal protection in employment screening, hiring, training, terminations, and other related issues. […]
DODGING THE BULLET
The Industries and Professions Not Subject to California’s New Independent Contractor Restrictions Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill (AB) 5 will dramatically extend the ultra-strict Dynamex “ABC” test for independent contractor classification. See, California’s Independent Contractors, Endangered Species? (October, 2019). However, a portion of AB-5, to become Labor Code section 2750.3(b), exempts several specific industries/licensed […]
COMFORT IS NOT A LUXURY
Protections for People Needing Assistive Animals A recent settlement extends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) disabilities protection to rental applicants seeking to move in with emotional support pets. In a complaint filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against Adams West Associates, Ltd. and Bedford Group of Companies, LLC, a […]
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, […]