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California

Ensure dress code doesn’t cause discrimination

04/08/2024

If you haven’t reviewed and revised your employee handbook’s dress and grooming policy lately, now is a good time to look for antiquated rules that could trigger lawsuits. That’s especially true if a supervisor tries to enforce out-of-date and potentially discriminatory standards. That’s a lesson one employer recently learned when a supervisor insisted women wear pantyhose and forego cosmetic embellishments that had religious and cultural significance to an employee.

Beware the fine line between insubordinate threats and actual violence

03/13/2024

It’s up to HR to keep an eye out for workplace discord that could erupt into violence. Train supervisors to be alert for obvious insubordination. An employee who refuses to follow directions or openly challenges authority other than through reasonable channels may be on the verge of escalating insubordination into violence. In turn, HR should have a plan to intervene, either through appropriate internal discipline or by referring the matter to the police.

Ask your lawyer: Does California’s pay-data law apply to us?

03/01/2024

Hundreds of HR-related state and local laws have a long reach that affects employers with even the slightest connection to the jurisdiction where they originated. You might have to comply if you have just one remote employee working there.

Child-labor violations cost $3.8 million, plus lost sales of compromised ‘hot goods’

01/17/2024

One of the U.S. Department of Labor’s enforcement priorities is eliminating the illegal use of child labor. In 2023, the DOL stepped up enforcement, levying hefty fines.

Holiday party triggers sexual hijinks? Beware harassment afterward

12/15/2023

Workplace romances or plain old carnal excess can have an adverse effect on the morale of other employees. For example, what happens when co-workers report out-of-control holiday hijinks to management? And what if the co-workers caught in flagrante delicto exact revenge on the tattletales? It just might amount to illegal retaliation.

Accused of religious bias? Brace for years of litigation

08/25/2023

Expect more requests for religious accommodations and more objections to performing some tasks. That kind of employee pushback—aided by well-financed nonprofit groups willing to litigate their cases—is already yielding more EEOC religious-discrimination complaints and federal lawsuits.

Keep it Legal: Beware stereotyping ambition

07/14/2023

While we may all like to think we don’t stereotype based on sex, race, nationality or any other protected class, the truth is that we may. And the number of lawsuits alleging that employers made hiring and promotion decisions based on stereotyping should serve as a warning to self-audit for doing just that.

California might mandate workplace violence policies

07/10/2023

The California State Senate just passed SB 553, legislation that requires all employers with at least one employee to develop workplace violence-prevention plans and policies.

Court: Hip-hop on work PA can be harassment

06/12/2023

A federal appeals court has ruled that blasting “sexually graphic, violently misogynistic” music over a Nevada warehouse’s public address system “almost daily” for two years created a hostile work environment.

Your best practice for beating bias lawsuits: Keep accurate records of all HR decisions

03/16/2023

Here’s HR’s best employment-law bet: Assume every employee you fire will try to sue you. That means basing every termination decision on solid business-related reasons, documented in real time. Your good records will often be enough to get a lawsuit tossed out quickly.