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

In 2017, a police officer with the City of Huntington Beach (“Officer Esparza”) saw a man standing on a sidewalk who caught his attention (“Mr. Tabares”).  Officer Esparza noticed Mr. Tabares wore a sweater on a warm day, walked abnormally, made flinching movements with his hands, and looked in his direction several times.  A former

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 happens when the employer has recommended discipline of an employee, and the employee informs the

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 not necessarily be the norm, it is also not unheard

Fire JacketIn 2007, the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act (FBOR) was enacted after several years of unsuccessful attempts to pass similar legislation. Although the FBOR is modeled after the longstanding Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR) [Gov. Code, §§ 3300 et seq.], that statutory scheme, which was originally intended for peace officers,

workers-compEmployers often worry, for good reason, that they are unable to take an adverse employment action against an employee who has made a claim for workers’ compensation. But, if an employer is prepared for the inevitable 132a discrimination charge, employees on workers’ compensation are not immune from being disciplined.

Why should employers care when it

constitution_against_flagPart I

The year 2015 will likely be a stand-out year for new developments in First Amendment law.  The end of this year has seen free speech at the top of the news on a near-daily basis.  Protests of police department practices, sparked by events in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, swept the country

Breaking News1.jpgThis blog post was authored by Joung Yim

On October 12, 2013, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 313 into law.  Effective January 1, 2014, Government Code section 3305.5 will be added to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBR).  A law enforcement agency will now be prohibited from taking punitive action, or