Posts Tagged ‘pasadena employment law attorney’
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 […]
BE KIND TO MOMMIES
Pregnancy 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 […]
DEALING WITH THE WORKPLACE “DEBBIE DOWNER”
Properly 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, […]
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, CALIFORNIA’S ENDANGERED SPECIES
Labor Commissioner Broadens Application of Dynamex Decision In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018), the California Supreme Court adopted a strict “ABC test” redefining “independent contractor”: The worker is free from the hirer’s control and direction in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract in fact; The worker performs […]
MAKING DYNAMEX RETROACTIVE
Federal Appeals Court Rules New Independent Contractor ABC Test Applies Before It Existed Industries and employers throughout California have been grappling since April 2018 with the effect of Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court on their independent contractor relationships. Rejecting a multi-factor standard that had been in place since 1989, the California Supreme Court […]
UNIONIZING HOME HEALTH CARE
California May Require More Home Aide Disclosures Starting July 1, 2019 The Home Care Organization Consumer Protection Act (HCOCPA), effective January 1, 2016, requires licensing of home care organizations (HCOs) and registration of their home care aides (HCAs). The Home Care Services Bureau (HCSB) of California’s Department of Social Services (CDSS) regulates this industry. See […]
CAUTIONARY TALES EPISODE 27
Walmart Hit with Six Million Dollar Verdict for “Discouraging” Off-Site Meal Breaks California employers must provide non-overtime-exempt employees unpaid meal break(s) based on the number of hours worked in a given day. See, Required Meal Periods and Rest Breaks Revisited (April, 2018). The California Supreme Court’s 2012 Brinker Restaurant Corp. decision clarified that “employer-provided” breaks […]