Employers know all too well the negative impact that excessive employee absences can have on the workplace. With just a month left of summer, major concerts touring, and back-to-school on the horizon, employers are likely to see many employees using up more of their paid time off as they squeeze in their final vacations and
Personnel Issues
What’s a “Skelly” Conference, Again? Legal Requirements and Best Practices for Complying with Employees’ Due Process Rights When Imposing “Significant” Discipline
You’ve probably heard the term “Skelly” meeting or conference hundreds, if not thousands of times, but what does “Skelly” really mean? Even if you think you know, a refresher can’t hurt, right?!
Most California public employees have what is known as a constitutionally protected “property” interest in continued employment, once and…
Retaliation Claims – Unique Concerns And How To Be Prepared
This article was reviewed in July 2021 and is up-to-date.
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 a complaint.” While this may…
Prevention, Prevention, Prevention! It’s Time to Audit Your Agency’s Personnel Rules
This article was reviewed in June 2021 and is up-to-date.
Prevention of liability starts with auditing your agency’s personnel rules. Indeed, in an employment-related lawsuit, the applicable personnel rule is often “Exhibit A.” Each year, public agencies face changes to employment laws and regulations, best management practices, and internal changes to procedures. Thus, the outcome…
DHS, CIS, I-9, ICE, EAD, H1B, F1, OMG! : FAQ’s About Immigration’s Alphabet Soup
Our clients frequently face questions about how immigration laws and policies apply to their employees, candidates, and students. The world of immigration law can be a bewildering jumble of acronyms, statutes, regulations, and policy directives that leave many employers or school administrators exasperated and with whiplash. As practitioners in labor, employment, and education for our…
Origins and Applications of the Home Rule Doctrine
This post was authored by Lisa S. Charbonneau.
Under Article XI, Sections 4 and 5 of the California Constitution, charter cities and counties have exclusive authority to regulate and determine their own municipal affairs, free from intrusion by the state. These provisions of the Constitution are collectively referred to as the municipal affairs clause…
Balancing Conflicts Between Work And Religion
This post was authored by Elizabeth T. Arce.
In December 2011, a Macy’s employee was fired because she refused to allow a teenage transgender customer use of the women’s dressing area. Natalie Johnson, who worked at a Macy’s in San Antonio, Texas, watched the teenager shop in the women’s department. When Johnson saw the…
Performance Evaluations: Why It’s A Good Thing For Public Employers
In the corporate world, the practice of giving annual performance reviews to employees has come under attack in recent years. Leading business magazines and newspapers have printed articles advocating for the elimination of performance evaluations. There are even books in the marketplace that teach companies how to get rid of performance reviews. Among the reasons…
Sexual Harassment Training Under Scrutiny: It’s Not Just What You Say, But What You Do That Matters
In the wake of recent attention to sexual harassment in the workplace, employers and members of the public are asking: what about all of those sexual harassment trainings we required? Are they helping? How do we know? And, if they’re not achieving our goals (public policy and agency-specific), what can we do better?
Just What …
The Annual Look at the Weird, Wacky and Just Plain Strange Employment Lawsuits
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 benefits. Brill was alleged to have violated the company’s social media policy when she made…