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California

Employment Lawyer Network:
California

Joseph L. Beachboard (Editor)

California Employment Law

Joe.Beachboard@OgletreeDeakins.com
(213) 239-9800

Click for Full Bio

Joseph L. Beachboard is a nationally recognized expert on employment law issues who speaks regularly at SHRM and other HR events. He also is a regular contributor to several national and California publications. In 2000, Mr. Beachboard sold The Labor Letters, Inc., a publisher of monthly employment law journals that he founded to advise human resource professionals. He is a founding member and executive director of the Management Employment Law Roundtable, a national, invitation only, organization of management labor and employment lawyers.

OFCCP: The most powerful agency you’ve never heard of

03/19/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Pro­­grams (OFCCP) monitors and enforces federal contractors’ compliance with the nation’s employment laws. Think of it as a parallel EEOC, but focused only on federal contractors. In many ways, it’s the most powerful government agency you’ve never heard of.

Government employees have limited privacy rights

03/19/2012
Public employees don’t lose all privacy rights just because they work for the government. But that privacy is subject to limitations.

Anonymous complaint? Investigate to get all details

03/19/2012

If you receive an anonymous complaint about a hostile workplace, launch an investigation right away. That way, if an employee later sues, you can easily compare what he said to the investigator with what he remembers now.

Considering denying insurance benefits? Always seek expert legal advice first

03/19/2012
It used to be that before an em­­ployee or former employee could get into federal court with a ­benefits-denial case, he had to show that he was a “plan participant.” But following a recent 9th Circuit decision, merely claiming to have been a plan participant is enough.

It’s your word against hers: Juries often decide if charges are trumped up

03/19/2012

If you get sued for retaliation by an employee who has previously filed a sexual harassment complaint, a jury will probably be suspicious of any discipline she received after complaining. Unless you can convincingly show the discipline you levied was deserved, a jury will have to decide if it was retaliation or legitimate punishment.

Beware defamation lawsuit after firing: Keep the reason confidential

03/19/2012

If you need to fire an employee for unethical actions, how you handle the termination may mean the difference between winning and losing a defamation lawsuit. Most important: Share information about the termination only with those who need to know about it.

EEOC plays hardball? Continue to negotiate

03/19/2012

The EEOC is supposed to engage in a conciliation process before suing employers for alleged employment violations. But sometimes the agency comes out with guns blazing, demanding a huge payment to settle a complaint. Some employers naturally respond negatively—and they may even walk away without further discussions. One employer recently did just that, and then tried to get a federal court to dismiss the EEOC lawsuit.

Incompetence can’t turn manager into hourly

03/02/2012
Sometimes an employee pro­­moted to management just isn’t ready for new responsibilities. Maybe she’s having a hard time thinking like an exempt employee, longing for the days when she was entitled to breaks and overtime. Fortunately, if you discipline such employees for neglecting their duties, they can’t later claim they actually were hourly employees entitled to overtime.

Problem employee both brash and unskilled? Focus on performance issues when disciplining

03/01/2012
Where should you focus if an employee is both difficult to get along with and doesn’t perform as well as she should? It’s actually an easy call. Avoid a potentially successful lawsuit by focusing on poor performance rather than demeanor or other subjective problems.

Firing OK for breaking no-dating policy?

02/22/2012
Q. Our company policy prohibits managers from dating subordinates. I have just learned that a manager has violated this rule. May we terminate him?