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California

Sexist supervisor? Keep him away from victims, scrutinize his decisions and actions

06/06/2019
If you hear reports that a supervisor or manager with authority over female employees is making sexist statements, act immediately to put an end to it.

California bill would triple time to file bias claims

06/06/2019
A bill before the California Assembly would expand the amount of time employees have to file harassment or discrimination claims under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act from the current one year to three years after the last discriminatory act.

Take proactive steps to assert at-will status

06/06/2019
A former employee who contests a termination in court may overcome the at-will presumption by presenting some evidence that there was either a specific written agreement spelling out employment terms or an implied agreement that employment would continue for an indefinite period of time unless there was some good cause for termination.

Talk it out to avert constructive discharge suit

06/04/2019
Workers can sometimes quit and sue, alleging they were “constructively discharged.” To win such a lawsuit, the former employee must show that a hypothetical reasonable employee would have felt just as compelled to quit had she experienced the same adverse working conditions.

Good faith wins, even if you might have been wrong

05/31/2019
Courts almost never second-guess employers’ decisions—even dubious ones—as long as they are confident the decisions were made in good faith.

No need for termination notice to state reason

05/29/2019
Employers don’t necessarily have to detail why they decided to fire an employee, for example in a formal termination notice. If they are later sued, it’s enough to provide original documentation justifying the legitimacy of the discharge.

Is it possible to discipline for body odor?

05/16/2019
Q. We have several employees who apparently don’t use deodorant and have very offensive body odor. What can we do to get them to clean up their act? Can we discipline them? Our dress code does specify that all employees shall practice good hygiene.

What is the latest information on running FMLA leave concurrently with other leave?

04/30/2019
Q. We don’t have a policy on using FMLA leave concurrently with other leave. Therefore, sometimes employees will ask to use up their paid leave first and then use unpaid FMLA leave. This seems to occur most often with maternity leave, as some new mothers like to have extra time off. Of course, we know about the need for FMLA leave since we know the employee is pregnant. We’ve heard that the DOL now requires us to run leave concurrently. Is this true?

New state lactation accommodation requirements may be coming to California

04/30/2019
California Senate Bill 142 would amend building codes to require new commercial buildings and those undergoing improvements costing over $1 million to include designated lactation spaces for employees.

Failure to pay overtime costs LA company $301,000

04/30/2019
Golden Life Supported Living Agency, a Los Angeles provider of services to clients with developmental disabilities, will pay $301,763 to 67 workers.