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California

Reporting-time pay: What if it’s clear employee is in no condition to work?

07/23/2013
Q. Does California’s reporting-time pay law apply to workers who report to work but appear to be unable or unfit to work?

How should we pay for overnight travel?

07/23/2013
Q. I know that the laws on overnight travel time are more restrictive in California than under federal law. Does the overnight travel rule under federal law apply in California or does an employer have to pay all travel time even if overnight travel is involved?

U.S. Supreme Court rules on DOMA, California’s Prop 8

07/23/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court in June issued two highly anticipated decisions addressing same-sex marriage in cases that resonated nationwide and in California. The cases are significant for employers because they are likely to have ripple effects on state, federal and local laws, in particular those dealing with employee benefit plans, taxation and immigration.

TV chef Paula Deen hires L.A. attorney-to-the-stars

07/23/2013
Embattled celebrity chef Paula Deen has fired her Georgia attorneys and called in the big guns—including famed Hollywood attorney-to-the-stars Patricia Glaser—to help salvage her reputation and media empire.

Suit claims Chivas USA illegally fired non-Latino coaches

07/23/2013
Major League Soccer team Chivas USA, which plays its home games in suburban Los Angeles, has been sued for race and ethnic discrimination by two former youth coaches. They claim they were fired because they are not Mexican or Latino.

California Labor Department strategy shift benefits workers

07/23/2013
By focusing on wage theft and retaliation claims instead of broad enforcement efforts, California’s Labor Department has managed to assess more than $51 million in civil penalties against businesses found to be in violation of state labor laws.

Employee acts as own lawyer? Expect legal complications

07/23/2013
Before you jump for joy when an employee acts as her own lawyer in a federal lawsuit, consider this: Courts give pro se litigants lots of leeway, as this case shows.

One subjectively offensive comment won’t support lawsuit

07/23/2013

Courts are losing patience with employees who are overly sensitive when it comes to joking and off-color comments in the workplace, and are tossing out flimsy lawsuits because it’s not their role to manage workplaces.

Buying business and rehiring staff? Beware excluding employees who have filed lawsuits

07/23/2013
When you buy a business, the employees generally don’t automatically transfer. Typically, the new owner decides which employees to keep on the payroll. Before you exclude any existing employees from consideration, make sure that rejecting them won’t look like a failure to hire because they have previously filed discrimination litigation.

You’re not Dr. Phil! Resist temptation to label underperformers’ problems

07/23/2013
We all use psychological lingo to describe behavior we find annoying or disturbing. But when such terms are used in the workplace, that armchair analysis can create needless legal headaches.