Expanded California Regulations Effective July 1, 2017 California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently heeded Dylan’s lyric “the times they are a-changin’” and released Regulations Regarding Transgender Identity and Expression. Effective July 1, 2017, the new regulations expand existing protections under FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act) for “gender identity” and “gender expression” […]
Just When You Thought You Had the Right Form, Feds Issue New One The federal government requires employers to verify identity and work authorization of their employees using a Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) with certain supporting documentation. After revising the form on November 14, 2016, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on […]
CUTTING TO THE CHASE – New Workplace Posting Requirements for California’s Salon Industries, Effective July 1, 2017 Starting July 1, 2017, California’s Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) requires its licensees – including hair salons, nail salons, estheticians, and barbers — to post a special Labor Commissioner notice on applicable employment laws. The notice includes information […]
The Consequences of Failing to Reasonably Accommodate Worker Disability What happens when an employer ignores requests from a disabled employee for reasonable accommodation? In one recent case, a $3 million jury verdict was the result. Caltrans analyst, John Barrie, sued his employer for failure to accommodate his severe allergies to chemicals, such as cleaning agents and […]
APPLICANT CRIMINAL HISTORIES – New Information Restricting Los Angeles Hiring Practices The City of Los Angeles’ Department of Public Works, Bureau of Contract Administration recently published frequently asked questions (FAQs) to assist employers in applying its Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO) that went into effect January 22, 2017. For more on this ordinance, […]
California Employers May Not Require “On-Call” Rest Breaks California businesses have a well-established duty to provide their employees a “net” ten-minute paid rest break for every four hours worked, or major fraction thereof (i.e., anything more than two hours of work). (“Net” here means the time an employee spends reaching and returning from his/her rest […]
California Home Care Organizations Facing Unannounced Inspections and Possible Fees Increase California’s Home Care Services Bureau (HCSB) licenses and oversees Home Care Organizations (HCOs) that provide employee caregivers to private clients. See: You Snooze, You Lose (April, 2016) and Home Health Care Organizations Last Chance to Continue Operations After June 30, 2016 (June, 2016). In its […]
Company Loses by Management Inattention to California Compliant Pay Policies and Practices A Los Angeles superior court judge has ruled McDonald’s in violation of California’s daily overtime laws in 119 restaurants. Maria Sanchez v. McDonald’s Restaurants of California, Inc., L.A. County Superior Court No. BC499888, April 20, 2017 order. The decision is a lesson in […]
New Regulations Coming to Prevent Heat Illness in the California Workplace California’s Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) created heat illness prevention regulations for outdoor workers in 2015. See New Heat Illness Prevention Measures Now in Place. Those regulations require specific protective measures for outdoor work, including provision of free, fresh, and “suitably cool” […]
California Seeks to Deter Mishaps by Annual Employer Posting Requirement, February through April In an effort to deter workplace health and safety hazards, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health requires employers with more than 10 employees to visibly post between February 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017 a summary of certain 2016 work-related injuries […]