Updated guidance on workplace age discrimination
As America's workforce gets older, do you know the laws that protect older workers — anyone 40 or older — in California?
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Workers’ compensation benefits unavailable for injuries sustained during commute
There are exceptions to this rule. But a California state appellate court reinforced how narrow two of the exceptions are.
Court says employers can ask workers to waive meal periods in advance
The waiver must be freely agreed to by the employee, who can revoke it at any time.
Court ruling on actor disqualified from role for refusing COVID vaccine has long-lasting implications
The court found Apple acted reasonably in requiring actors on its set to be vaccinated.
Probationary workers and at-will employees. What you need to know
An at-will employee who completes a probationary period generally enjoys no greater workplace legal rights than a probationary employee.
¿Qué debes hacer si ICE llega a su lugar de trabajo
Lo que los empleadores y los empleados deben saber sobre el aumento esperado de actividad en el lugar de trabajo.
When ICE comes to your workplace
What employers and employees should know about expected increased activity in the workplace.
EEOC says it’s going after ‘anti-American’ employment discrimination
EEOC says it's going after "anti-American" employment discrimination. What does this mean for employers?
What to know about ‘garden’ leave when you resign but remain on the payroll
Allowing employees to remain on the payroll may make it easier for them to find a new job, even though they are performing no work.
DEI Trumped: What the diversity executive order means for private employers
The impact of Trump’s DEI order will depend on how challenges arising from the order to particular private sector DEI programs fare in the courts of law.
The ministerial exception to workplace claims
Court upholds ministerial exception that protects religious organizations' autonomy from employment discrimination lawsuits
It’s the employer’s duty to prevent heat illness
All outdoor workplaces are covered by heat illness prevention regulations. Certain industries, including agriculture, construction and landscaping are subject to additional rules.
Avoid these workplace mistakes in the new year
What to know about California laws on independent contractors, unused vacation time, employment agreements and employee training for 2025.
Significant workplace law developments in the past year
Changes in California included "hours worked" definitions, workplace violence prevention plans and rules governing mandated employer meetings.
New employer restriction on requiring driver’s license
Starting next year, California employers with five or more employees will be prohibited from stating in job ments, postings or applications that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless...
Lo que la elección de Trump significa para los empleadores de California
California ha promulgado leyes más protectoras que prevalecerán sobre la política federal.
What Trump’s election means to California employers
California has enacted more protective laws that will take precedence over federal policy. But expect to see changes for unions and foreign workers.
En California, los empleadores deben darte tiempo libre para votar. Así es como funciona
En la mayoría de los casos, los empleados tienen hasta dos horas de tiempo libre remunerado para votar
In California, employers must give you time off to vote. Here’s how that works
In most cases, employees in the Golden State get up to two hours of paid time off to vote.
3 reasons San Diegans should care about the Prop. 32 minimum wage increase
Prop. 32 will lead to higher prices, though how much higher is uncertain. The key unknown is whether overall employment will rise or fall should Prop. 32 .
Mandatory employer meetings about employer’s religious, political views barred
California employees can refuse to attend meetings that communicate the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters.
Talking politics in the office. What’s allowed under the law
In general, constitutional free speech rights do not apply in the private workplace. But there are some exceptions.
California voters to consider ending involuntary prison work
The economic reality of the relationship may change from punisher and punished to employer and employee, conferring at least some employee rights.
What job-protected leave for school activities means
An employer must allow a parent to take up to 40 hours of leave per year for either school placement/activities or school emergencies.
Coworkers one-time slur may be unlawful harassment
Employer could be liable only if the employer knew or should have known of the coworker’s offending conduct and failed to take immediate action.
AI vendor with biased algorithm may be liable for employment discrimination
A business entity acting as an employer’s agent may be held directly liable as an employer for employment discrimination
Citizen may challenge employer over preference for noncitizens
However, the conflict between circuit courts and a vigorous dissent in this case increase the odds the U.S. Supreme Court will step in.
California’s gig worker law survives court challenge
Ninth Circuit upholds AB 5 as constitutional law
A new obstacle for DEI programs?
An employee claiming unlawful discrimination based on race, sex, etc. also must show they were subject to an adverse employment action. Most courts, including California courts, have ruled the adverse...
Updates on workplace violence prevention, AI rules, right to disconnect
Here’s a mid-year update of topics addressed in earlier columns.Workplace violence prevention plan July 1 deadlineMy Jan. 1 column addressed new Labor Code section 6401.9 that requires California employers to...
EEOC issues new workplace harassment guidance
The focus of this, my 200th column, is workplace harassment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal employment discrimination laws, just issued comprehensive guidance on workplace harassment based...
The Californization of federal labor laws
If they survive court challenges, new federal rules addressing independent contractor status, farmworker rights, and non-compete agreements will extend to workers nationwide some rights California workers have in these areas.Independent...
Why a proposed California law that would give you the right to ignore your boss’ after-hours communications is flawed
Everyone appreciates a break from work. Assemblymember Matt Haney recently introduced AB 2751, which would give all employees, except those covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement, the right to...
Must employees be paid for time spent undergoing exit security process?
Must employees be paid for time spent on employer premises in their personal vehicles while waiting to scan an identification badge, with guards then peering into their vehicles before the...
One step closer to student-athlete labor unions?
March Madness is a fitting time to focus on recent legal activity in the longstanding dispute over whether college athletes should be treated as employees. The latest development concerns the...
3 ways the pandemic left its mark on law in the workplace
On March 19, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all Californians except those working in “federal critical infrastructure sectors” to stay home due to the COVID-19 emergency. Nearly four years later,...
Employee claiming sexual misconduct can opt out of predispute artbitration agreement
In 2022, Congress enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which went into effect March 3, 2022.The act entitles someone who files a complaint in...
Is it unlawful discrimination to not promote an employee who works remotely?
California law requires employers with five or more employees to provide interactive sexual harassment training to their employees annually. I generally open my trainings with a statement that invariably astounds...
US Labor Department’s new independent contractor test
On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published final regulatory guidance addressing the classification of workers as independent contractors under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The...
Four ways employers can limit legal risk in 2024
Update – or get – an Employee HandbookAny California employer with five or more employees should have an employee handbook, if not a designated human resources professional. California’s employment discrimination...
New steps employers must take to prevent workplace violence
On July 1, new Labor Code section 6401.9 added by SB 553 will require most California employers to implement a written workplace violence prevention plan, either as a standalone plan...
New California workplace laws for 2024
On Jan.1, new California workplace laws will take effect that may require employers to take specific action.Minimum wageCalifornia’s minimum hourly wage for all employers will increase to $16. Employees who...
California employee’s off-duty cannabis use to be protected – to a point
In 1996, California voters legalized cannabis use for medical consumption in this state. In 2016, California voters legalized recreational use of cannabis by adults in California.On Jan. 1, it will...
Should employers revise diversity programs in light of recent Supreme Court ruling?
Employers should review and, perhaps, revise their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Students for Fair issions v. Harvard (SFAA)...
AI law and the workplace; also why CA’s measure on caste discrimination was vetoed
Any Law at Work column offers only a snapshot of the state of the law of the topic addressed when the column runs. The very title of the column implies...
New employee rights in the new year
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law numerous measures that will boost employee rights in California effective Jan. 1. Among them: SB 616 will increase the number of paid sick...
9th Circuit: Indefinite furlough triggers right to immediate vacation payout
In February 2022, Los Angeles federal judge Dale Fischer ruled in Hartstein v. Hyatt Corporation that California law did not require Hyatt Hotels immediately to pay the over 7,000 employees...
Court won’t rewrite unenforceable noncompete
A court probably won’t rewrite a noncompete provision in a partnership agreement that omits the required specified geographic area of non-competition, according to a recent unpublished ruling of the California...
State university faculty not entitled to reimbursement for pandemic-related remote work expenses
Two months ago, this column addressed a California Court of Appeal ruling in Thai v. International Business Machines Corp. that Labor Code Section 2802 required a private employer to reimburse...
Why employers must use AI carefully
Almost 25% of employers use artificial intelligence (AI), such as automated-decision systems, to make employment-related decisions, according to a Society for Human Resource Management survey last year.Draft regulations of the...
Employer not liable for take-home COVID-19
Is an employer liable where an employee catches COVID-19 at work due to employer negligence and infects a household member? In Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., the California Supreme Court...
Employer must reimburse work-from-home expenses incurred during pandemic shutdown
The California Court of Appeal recently ruled in Thai v. International Business Machines Corporation that IBM had to reimburse its employees for Internet access and other computer-related expenses needed to...
New federal pregnancy accommodation law
On June 27, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect obligating employers with 15 or more employees to provide accommodations to their pregnant employees. Here’s what the PWFA...
What if whistleblower discloses employer misconduct to someone already aware of it?
California employers may not punish employees for disclosing information about conduct an employee reasonably believes is unlawful to, among others, another employee with the power to address the arguable misconduct....
‘Motivational’ workplace music may motivate lawsuit
A March 18, 2022 blog post for teambuilding.com recommends 22 motivational songs for work. (No. 1 is “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III.) The company’s marketing coordinator Angela Robinson...
EEOC issues ‘capstone’ COVID-19 guidance
May 11, 2023, marked the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency. And yet, while the pandemic officially is over, COVID-19 remains. Employers must continue to follow COVID-19-related guidance...
California moves toward outlawing caste discrimination
On May 11, the California State Senate overwhelmingly ed SB 403, a measure which, if enacted, will make California the first state to ban discrimination in workplaces, schools, and elsewhere...
Supreme Court considers employer duty to accommodate employee’s religious practices
How far must an employer go to accommodate an employee’s religious practices under federal law? Is it enough for the employer to show that accommodating the employee will result in...
Recent developments in law of app-based drivers
On March 13, the California Court of Appeal mostly upheld Proposition 22, which authorized rideshare and delivery network platforms, such as Uber and Postmates, to classify their workers as independent...
3 questions key to Nathan Fletcher lawsuit
Grecia Figueroa lost her job as a Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) public relations specialist on Feb. 6, 2023, the same day County Supervisor and then-MTS Board Chairman Nathan Fletcher announced...
PAGA plaintiff may represent claims of other employees in court, even if required to arbitrate own claims
The California Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) authorizes any “aggrieved employee” to seek civil penalties against an employer for a range of Labor Code violations, including wage-related violations,...
Avoid these common mistakes in conducting workplace investigations
At a recent Zoom program I attended sponsored by the Harvard Law School Association of Orange County, attorney Tina Rad of Wagener Law addressed the ten most common mistakes made...
Employee’s handwritten signature makes arbitration agreement easier to enforce
Many California employers ask incoming and existing employees to agree in advance to arbitrate any employment-related disputes and give up the right to bring such claims in court. Employees often...
Legal consequences of resume fraud
In 2017, CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,500 U.S. employers across industries and company sizes about resume fraud, including 221 human resources managers in the private sector. About 75% of hiring...
Employee may not be outside salesperson even if sales work mostly is performed off employer’s premises
Under California regulations, an employee who (1) “customarily and regularly works more than half the working time away from the employer’s place of business” engaged in (2) “selling tangible or...
COVID-19 – and its workplace rules – still with us
Happy New Year!On Dec. 15, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) voted to replace the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) with COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations. Cal/OSHA has...
New state guidance on confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) just issued guidance about an employer must, may, and may not include in employment, severance,...
The Law at Work: Employee as a Good Samaritan
In this season of goodwill toward all comes a timely ruling addressing the scope of California’s Good Samaritan law, Health and Safety Code section 1799.102. In Valdez v. Costco Wholesale...
The Law at Work: Anatomy of a whistleblower claim
In its recent ruling in Killgore v. Spero Professional Services LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit addressed disclosures protected by California’s whistleblower law.Factual backgroundAaron Killgore was...
California establece un permiso por duelo
A partir del 1 de enero, las empresas de California con cinco o más empleados tendrán que ofrecer a todos los empleados que lleven al menos 30 días en el...
California mandates bereavement leave
Starting Jan. 1, California employers with five or more employees will have to offer all employees with at least 30 days on the job at least five days of unpaid,...
3 things to know about California’s expanded leave laws
Under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), employers with five or more employees must give their eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off annually to care...
Updates on pay disclosure, minimum wage and Capitol riot wrongful firing lawsuit
SB 1162 signed into lawOn Sept. 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1162 into law. A recent Law at Work column addressed that measure. No later than the second Wednesday...
Employee who loses job after absence to care for sick relative may qualify for unemployment benefits
California employees who voluntarily leave their job with “good cause” as defined by the applicable regulation are entitled to unemployment benefits. “Good cause” includes leaving for compelling reasons, whether or...
Column: California Legislature es pay disclosure measure
Late last month, the California legislature approved SB 1162 which, with the governor’s signature, will impose new disclosure obligations on many California employers. The measure has two major sections. The...
Workplace violence restraining orders limited to threats against employees
A recent California court of appeal ruling addresses what an employer must show to get a workplace violence restraining order (WVRO) when a customer or other third party mistreats an...
On the road again: Compensating work-related travel
After limiting work-related travel due to the pandemic, many employers are sending their employees to out-of-town sales meetings, conferences, and trainings. Here are the rules of the road for compensating...
Employer’s duty to ‘provide’ employee seating
Under the California wage orders governing most workplaces, all working employees must be “provided with suitable seats when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats.” Where...
What to do when on onsite employee tests positive for COVID- 19
On July 6, The New York Times cited a new survey that found most Americans believe their lives are “at least approaching pre-pandemic normalcy.”And yet, the front-page headline of the...
No payment due for pre-employment drug test time and travel costs
California law generally requires an employer to compensate employees while employees are under the employer’s control. In addition, Labor Code section 2802 requires an employer to compensate its employees for...
Consequences for employers that get employee breaks wrong
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that pay owed to employees whom an employer requires to work during their breaks is a form of “hardship” pay that generally must...
COVID-19 infection may not be disability, says San Diego federal judge
As a Hertz management associate in National City, Michelle Roman’s responsibilities included screening employees for COVID-19 symptoms. Hertz's policy required that an employee who answered “yes” to any question about...
Deadline looms for small employers to establish retirement programs
The CalSavers program requires for-profit and non-profit employers with five or more employees, at least one of whom is age 18, to offer their employees either an employer-sponsored plan that...
When it comes to religion and work, company policy a factor
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard argument on the case of a public high school football coach who lost his job for refusing to discontinue his practice of silently praying...
Best practices for new phase of pandemic
The pandemic is not over, but it seems to be entering a new phase. Only in retrospect will we know the duration of the latest phase and whether it is...
Handle employee with caregiving responsibilities with care
Throughout the pandemic, employers have dealt with employees with disclosed or assumed caregiving responsibilities at home. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued guidance on how to address...
Does employer have duty to keep remote workplace safe from criminal conduct?
A California employer has a statutory duty to provide its employees with a safe and healthful workplace. During the pandemic, employers have fulfilled that duty largely by adopting policies and...
Court: No right to immediate vacation payout where benefits continued during furlough
Many California businesses that shut down when the pandemic started in the U.S. two years ago almost to the day furloughed staff indefinitely, especially in the hospitality industry. Did California...
What you need to know about new COVID-19 leave law
California’s 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) law requires employers with 26 or more employees to provide their employees with up to 80 hours of COVID-19-related paid leave. The...
Legal perils of workplace romance
Happy Valentine’s Day.Last February, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) released a survey that found over a third of American workers have been, or currently are, involved in a...
Making sense of recent rulings on workplace vaccination mandates
The U.S. Supreme Court and other courts in California and elsewhere have issued rulings in recent weeks on government-imposed vaccine mandates. Some rulings have upheld vaccine mandates, others have blocked...
2 courts, 2 sets of COVID-19 emergency workplace rules, 2 different outcomes. What it means
On Thursday, a 6-3 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health istration (OSHA) from enforcing COVID-19 emergency temporary standards. Under those standards, employers with...
Reason for employers to adopt strong COVID-19 safety rules: potential liability for non-employee infections
An employee injured at work generally is limited to workers' compensation benefits, which the worker is entitled to receive whether the employer was negligent or not. If an employee can...
Reason for employers to adopt strong COVID safety rules: Potential liability for nonemployee infections
An employee injured at work generally is limited to workers compensation benefits, which the worker is entitled to receive whether the employer was negligent or not. If an employee can...
CAL-OSHA, EEOC update COVID-19 workplace law
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has reimposed mask mandates in public indoor settings. Under existing Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) emergency temporary standards, “Employers shall provide...
Employer risk after holiday party ends
Employers are hosting in-person holiday parties again after a one-year break. These parties benefit employers by boosting employee morale, strengthening ties between employees, and reinforcing the employer-employee bond, critical in...
With fed vaccine mandate on hold, what now?
On Nov. 5, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health istration (OSHA) published nearly 500 pages of emergency temporary standards (ETS) that, among other things, would have required employers with 100...
New guidance on religious exemption to workplace vaccine mandates
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just issued guidance under Title VII, the federal employment discrimination law, on processing employee requests for religious exemptions to employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates.The...
New restrictions on employee confidentiality and non-disparagement pacts
During the hiring process and throughout employment, employees may be asked to sign documents agreeing not to disclose their employer’s confidential information and not to criticize (disparage) their employer publicly....
3 things departing employee must receive when terminated
As the coronavirus pandemic recedes, many employees are leaving their jobs in what is being called “the Great Resignation.” Other employees are being terminated for, among other reasons, refusing to...