Posts Tagged ‘workplace policies’
NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION CLARIFIED
New California Regulations Take Effect July 1, 2018 California law prohibits discrimination against employees and applicants for their membership in any protected class, including national origin. The California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC), which enacts regulations to protect employees and job candidates from unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation, recently issued greater national origin protections. Effective […]
GAME CHANGER
Independent Contractor Status in California Now Falls Under Radically Different Rules The California Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision drastically redefining who can be classified an independent contractor. Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. The new criteria potentially expose tens of thousands of businesses who have relied on the old rules to legal […]
WHEN A DOOR SHUTS …. MAKE SURE IT’S FULLY CLOSED
Figuring Out the Final Paycheck When a worker’s employment ends, what should be included in a final paycheck is determined by California’s laws, the employer’s specific policies in place during the employment period, and the circumstances of the employment ending. When an employer terminates a worker without advance notice, all wages and earned but unused […]
MAN’S BEST FRIEND
How to Handle Customers’ Service Animals On Tuesday afternoon a customer walks in your restaurant with his giant Deerhound and starts ordering lunch for both of them. The waitress, surprised and unsure about this arrangement, asks her supervisor if the customer needs to leave because of the “no pets allowed” policy. May the supervisor promptly […]
PLANES, TRAINS, CARS & CAMELS
Calculating Travel Pay in California Hourly employees must be paid for all “hours worked.” Where an employee is required to travel for work, near or far, the employer must compensate the worker for that time. Exceptions are normal commute time or road trip downtime. Thus, an hourly worker who watches a movie through a flight for business is […]
CAN I BRING MY MONKEY TO WORK?
How to Handle Assistive Animals in the Workplace Upon arriving to work on Monday morning your customer service manager asks if she can bring her monkey to the office. Must management grant her request? It depends. If she needs the monkey to reasonably accommodate her disability, then the employer will most likely have to grant […]
DON’T FLUNK THE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION TEST
Compton School District Failed to Accommodate Disabled Teacher The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to engage in an “interactive process” with a worker requesting accommodation of a disability. The employer must have timely, good faith and ongoing discussions to explore if and how to reasonably […]
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
When It’s Time to Call Your Lawyer No-one likes lawyers … until you need one. Experienced and knowledgeable business managers are usually capable of handling basic employment issues. Yet, laws governing the workplace tend to change frequently and companies can face formal complaints, liabilities and large attorney bills if significant employee disputes or decisions are […]
THE BASICS OF OVERTIME
Five Rules for California California law requires most non-exempt employees to receive overtime pay for time worked beyond forty hours in any one workweek or after eight hours in one workday. A workweek is any seven consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week beginning at any hour, so long as the cycle […]
GENDER DESIGNATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE
“Non-binary” will Join “He” and “She” in California California law prohibits discrimination against employees for their membership in any protected class. This includes gender identity, defined as “each person’s internal understanding of their gender, or the perception of a person’s gender identity, which may include male, female, a combination of male and female, neither male […]