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California

Pregnant employee? Make every effort to accommodate temporary restrictions

05/15/2009

Terminating a pregnant employee because she has minor medical restrictions can be very expensive. The move may mean you have to make the employee financially whole—plus pay a large punitive damage award and attorneys’ fees. Here’s the best way to handle temporary medical restrictions associated with pregnancy:

Good news: The clock eventually runs out on negligent hiring after you’ve fired worker

05/15/2009

You probably know that employers can and are sometimes held liable if their employees harm customers. That’s especially true if they knew or should have known that the employee might be dangerous. But your potential liability—if you negligently hired an employee in the first place—doesn’t go on indefinitely.

Government employers get some backup: You’re free to harshly punish harassers

05/15/2009

If you are a public employer, you know how hard it is to punish an employee. Now the California Court of Appeal has made it a little easier by overturning a Civil Service Commission decision that merely slapped a harasser on the wrist. Now it’s clear that government employers have to take serious measures to end harassment in the workplace.

Suing over tip pools may end in California Supreme Court

05/15/2009

Employees who believe their employers may be forcing them to participate in a tip pool and may be diverting part of the tips to owners or managers who aren’t entitled to them may or may not have a right to sue on their own behalf.

Court rules some arbitration agreements are enforceable

05/15/2009

Employers sometimes can’t get arbitration agreements to stick in California. Now an appellate court has finally upheld such an agreement.

Judge rejects class-action bid in San Diego taxi case

05/15/2009

Judge Charles Hayes of the California Superior Court for the County of San Diego recently denied class certification to a group of taxi drivers who claimed they were improperly classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Judge approves $8 million settlement in UPS case

05/15/2009

A federal judge recently approved an $8 million settlement between UPS and approximately 38,000 current and former California employees. The workers alleged the company failed to provide meal and rest breaks and did not pay terminated employees their wages on a timely basis.

Law firm WARN Act suit gets class-action status

05/15/2009

A federal judge recently certified two classes of workers in a suit accusing the law firm Thelen, LLP, of firing them without notice. Also certified were three subclasses of workers alleging that the defunct law firm failed to compensate them for vacation time.

What should we do when caregiver leave overlaps with family leave?

05/15/2009

Q. One of our employees recently went on military caregiver leave to take care of her injured husband. She is also expected to give birth in the coming weeks. Is she entitled to 12 weeks of leave under the FMLA in addition to her 26 weeks of caregiver leave?

Minor adjustments: How to comply with federal teen labor rules

05/05/2009

Your risk of running afoul of the child labor laws has increased, and penalties can be harsh. A recent government study found a surprisingly high percentage of teen employees working longer hours than federal law allows, and also in jobs deemed too dangerous by law. Now, federal and state safety investigators are more interested than ever in child labor compliance.