This post was authored by Stefanie K. Vaudreuil.
In this fifth annual installment of a look at some unbelievable, strange and wacky employment litigation, there remains no shortage of cases that will make you believe your human resources issues …
Category Archives: Employment
Subscribe to Employment RSS FeedUPDATED – New Legislation Will Impact Litigation of FEHA Claims, Employer-Employee Agreements, and Necessitate Additional Employer Training
Posted in Employment
This post was authored by Geoffrey S. Sheldon & Andrew Pramschufer
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been revised from its original version that was published on October 1, 2018. The original version noted, among other things, that SB1300 amended …
Conducting Effective Workplace Investigations Is Essential To Minimizing The Risk Of Liability On A Failure To Prevent Harassment Claim
Posted in Employment, Workplace Policies
This post was authored by Melanie L. Chaney.
Under Title VII and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), the employer has an affirmative obligation to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. In order …
Tattoos. Piercings. The Workplace. Like it or Not, the Millennials are the Future Workforce.
Posted in Employment, Workplace Policies
This post was authored by Stefanie K. Vaudreuil.
Keeping track of monikers for the generations since World War II can be puzzling. You have Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials, but the Millennials are also known as Generation Y. …
Is Your Agency Prepared to Manage Disaster Service Workers During a State of Emergency?
Posted in Employment
This post was authored by Lisa S. Charbonneau.
In July 2018 alone, California Governor Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency for eight counties — Lake, Mendocino, Mariposa, Napa, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Shasta, and Siskiyou Counties — due …
Agency Policy Bars Lawsuit: Employee Must First Exhaust Internal Agency Process
Posted in Discrimination, Employment
This post was authored by Erin Kunze.
In 2009, Santa Barbara County, like many public agencies in California, faced a budget shortfall for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. In response, the County determined the need to lay off 35 employees, …
U.S. Appeals Court Tells Public Employers to Stay Out of Employee’s Bedrooms
Posted in Employment, Privacy, Public Safety Issues
This blog was authored by Megan Lewis.
Earlier this month, in Perez v. City of Roseville, the U.S. Court of Appeals held that terminating a police officer for engaging in an off-duty, extramarital affair with a co-worker could violate …
Unwrapping the Box – Putting California’s New Statewide Ban-the-Box Law into Practice to Avoid FEHA Liability
Posted in Employment, Hiring, Legislation
This post was authored by Victoria E. McDermott.
California’s new Ban-the-Box Law is now in effect, and employers across the state are questioning its impact on their hiring practices. Assembly Bill 1008, codified as section 12952 to the Fair …
ACA Reporting Relief – Written Statement to Covered Individuals Now Due March 2, 2018; Good Faith Penalty Relief Extended
Posted in Employment, Healthcare
This post was authored by Erin Kunze and Heather DeBlanc.
1. Written Statement to Covered Individuals Now Due March 2, 2018 for the 2017 Calendar Year Reporting Period
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued an automatic, 30-day extension …
Navigating the Hazy World of Recreational Marijuana Use Following Proposition 64’s Passage
Posted in Constitutional Rights, Employment, Legislation, Workplace Policies
Last year, California voters passed Proposition 64 (“Prop 64”), making the recreational use and sale of marijuana generally permissible under California law. Specifically, Prop 64 legalizes the use of marijuana for non-medical reasons by adults age 21 and over. …
The Annual Look at the Weird, Wacky and Just Plain Strange Employment Lawsuits
Posted in Discrimination, Employment, Personnel Issues, Workplace Policies
It is that time again. These are actual employment cases. Really, they are.
Mad at your co-workers? Tell a friend, not Facebook
Jayne Brill sued her former employer and the Virginia Employment Commission because she was terminated and denied unemployment …
New Law on Out-of-Class Assignments Requires More Homework for CalPERS Agencies
Posted in Employment, Hiring, Legislation, Retirement, Workplace Policies
The California Legislature recently passed AB 1487, which is now codified as Government Code section 20480. The new law applies only to CalPERS agencies and limits the amount of time that an employee can work in an “out-of-class appointment” to …
To Be or Not to Be an Adverse Employment Action – What is Paid Administrative Leave?
Posted in Employment, Public Sector, Workplace Policies
This post was authored by Peter J. Brown, Stephanie J. Lowe and Brett A. Overby
This principle used to be clear – paid administrative leave was outside the scope of an adverse employment action. This was based on court …
New Statute Prohibits Inquiries Into Applicant’s Private Sector Salary History
Posted in Employment, Hiring, Legislation, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies
On October 12, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 168, which will go into effect January 1, 2018 as Labor Code 432.3. This new statute prohibits employers, in many circumstances, from attempting to obtain information regarding a job …
Supreme Court Petition Submitted Regarding Application of U.S. Civil Rights Act to Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Posted in Appeals, Constitutional Rights, Discrimination, Employment
In April, we reported on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, which held that sex-discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act includes discrimination on the basis of …
An Employee Has Raised a Disability for the First Time During a Skelly. What Now?
Posted in Appeals, Disability, Discrimination, Employment, Personnel Issues
This post was authored by Kristin D. Lindgren
Intro
Employers are well aware that employee disabilities can create mine fields due to the technical nature of disability discrimination laws. Even the most well-intentioned employers can run into trouble. But, what …
Accommodating the Religious Practices of a Diverse Workforce
Posted in Constitutional Rights, Disability, Discrimination, Employment, Ethics, First Amendment, Labor Relations, Legislation, Workplace Policies
Religious diversity, including the protection of religious minorities, is a core American value, as shown by its prominent placement in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in the establishment and free exercise clauses. California is, unsurprisingly, a leader in …
Trump Administration Ends Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)
Posted in Employment, Hiring, Labor Relations, Legislation, Public Sector
This post was authored by Pilar Morin and Jenny Denny
On September 5, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program, a 2012 program created under the Obama administration …
Retaliation Claims- Unique Concerns And How To Be Prepared
Posted in Employment, Labor Relations, Litigation, Retaliation
Often times, an employee may know that discipline or a poor performance evaluation is imminent. Occasionally, such an employee will engage in a preemptive strike—“You can’t discipline me or give me a poor performance evaluation now since I have submitted …
Lessons Learned From LCW’s “How to Avoid Claims of Disability Discrimination” Seminar
Posted in Disability, Discrimination, Employment, Labor Relations, Lessons Learned, Litigation, Workplace Policies
This post was authored by Matthew Nakano.
On July 11, 2017, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Jennifer Rosner partnered with Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) Assistant Chief Counsel Paula Pearlman to present a seminar on “How to Avoid Claims …
Employers Must Now Provide Notice to Employees Pursuant to AB 2337 / Labor Code Section 230.1 Regarding the Rights of Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking in the Workplace
Posted in Employment, Harassment, Legislation, Workplace Policies
This post was authored by Alysha Stein-Manes and Kaylee E. Feick.
Last November, we reported that Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill No. 2337 (“AB 2337”) into law. AB 2337 amended Labor Code section 230.1 (“Section 230.1”) to require employers …
Trend Alert: Closing the Wage Gap
Posted in Discrimination, Employment, Legislation, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies
In 2015, women earned 80% of what men earned, according to the United States Census Bureau. The disparity is even more prevalent for women of color. But California has taken steps to close the wage gap, including amendments to the …
Is Your Public Agency Aware of These Lesser Known Job-Protected Leaves?
Posted in Employment, Public Sector
Many public agencies are familiar with the well-known reasons why an employee can take time off of work, such as for paid sick leave, family and medical leave, disability or industrial injury leave, and jury duty leave. However, in California, …
California Legislation Seeks to Limit Public Agency Activities Surrounding Immigration Enforcement and Religious Freedom
Posted in Education, Employment, Legislation, Public Safety Issues
In December 2016, shortly after the November 8 presidential election, members of the California Legislature introduced for consideration a series of bills addressing immigration enforcement. Within the series, three bills would place limitations on a public agency’s ability to participate …