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California

Cluelessness at WirelessCom costs big settlement

01/03/2013
WirelessCom, a small San Jose re­­seller of phone services, will pay $97,000 to settle a sexual harassment complaint filed by a then-19-year-old employee.

36 Calif. firms ace awards for gay-friendly practices

01/03/2013
Each year the Human Rights Cam­­paign rates Fortune 500 companies on how well they treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. Thirty-six California firms couldn’t have scored any better, earning perfect 100s.

Workers need to know that customer lists are secret

01/03/2013
Want to stop unfair competition from former employees? Have them acknowledge that customer lists that they may have access to are considered trade secrets and that they can’t solicit customers from those lists after leaving.

Suspect leave abuse? Be certain before you act

01/03/2013
Most of the time, an employer needs only to honestly believe the reason given for a termination. However, that’s not true in cases involving the FMLA or California family leave.

Bullying: A bad management strategy (but that doesn’t make it illegal)

01/03/2013
There’s one or two in every workplace: a first-level supervisor who yells and screams at everyone. Bullying probably isn’t the best way to get the most out of employees, but that doesn’t make it illegal.

Employees’ work is dull and uninspiring? Sorry, that’s not grounds for a lawsuit

01/03/2013
Most people want to do meaningful, satisfying work. But many jobs are just routine, boring and not particularly inspiring. Employers have no obligation to provide a perfectly harmonious workplace in which everyone is satisfied and fulfilled.

Now what? Employee won’t OK arbitration

01/03/2013
Employers that decide to add an arbitration agreement to their conditions of employment often try to get every employee’s signature on the document. But what if some employees don’t sign? What will you do? Can you count on the agreement being binding anyway? That’s unclear.

After FMLA ends, consider offering more leave

01/03/2013
Do you have a draconian FMLA leave policy that requires automatic termination for employees who use up their entitlement before being cleared to return to work? If so, you’re playing with fire.

When performance slips, don’t let past good reviews affect decision-making

01/01/2013

Some employees do well for years, only to have their performance slip. There may come a time when you have to let the employee go. But what about all those glowing evaluations from years past? If you can prove that the employee’s performance has genuinely declined, those earlier evaluations won’t cause any trouble in court.

How to win discrimination lawsuits: Carefully document real performance problems

01/01/2013
Smart employers carefully track performance over the long haul—not just when a manager decides he’s had enough and wants to terminate an employee for poor performance. It’s important to lay the groundwork early on, especially if a new hire has obvious performance problems right after coming on board.