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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.

Gov’t employees: No due process claim to promotion

06/26/2018
Public employees have a right to due process before being deprived of the property interest that is their job. Essentially, that means a public employer has to provide “some sort of a hearing” allowing the worker to present his side of the story before being fired. That right doesn’t extend to a promotion not granted.

Don’t use disability leave as excuse to terminate

06/26/2018
Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers must reasonably accommodate disabled workers with disability leave. If that leave is then used against the worker to justify a termination, it ceases being a reasonable accommodation.

Better get a lawyer! Details are crucial when drafting employment agreements

06/26/2018
When it comes to incentive agreements, it pays to engage an experienced attorney up front to draft the language. Your early investment in legal help will save you time and money later.

Assemble objective data to justify disciplinary and termination decisions

06/26/2018
Employers that have solid, objective information about poor performance seldom lose lawsuits over the firing of a sub-par employee. Just one caveat: The more objective the data, the better.

Absences may disqualify disabled employee

06/26/2018
Employees who suffer from disabilities as defined in the ADA or serious health conditions as defined in the FMLA enjoy some job protections. But those protections are not unlimited.

No work permit? Overtime pay still required

06/26/2018
Undocumented status and the possibility the workers may be subject to deportation does not absolve you of your obligation to pay the minimum wage and overtime under California’s wage-and-hour laws. You must also grant mandated meal and rest breaks.

CalOSHA ergonomic regs for hotel staff take effect July 1

06/26/2018
Revised musculoskeletal injury prevention regulations for hotel housekeepers take effect July 1. Affected employers have until Oct. 1 to develop musculoskeletal injury protection plans, or MIPPs.

In #MeToo era, accused harassers may seek injunctions to stop internal investigations

06/05/2018
Sexual harassment claims are on the rise, in the wake of the #MeToo social media movement. Some alleged harassers are fighting back, arguing that the accusations do irreparable harm to their reputations. And they’re not just threatening to file lawsuits.

Are we allowed to refuse to hire employees with very thick foreign accents?

05/30/2018
Q. We are a large telemarketing company. We often receive customer complaints about employees who speak in thick accents. Can we refuse to hire individuals with accents for this reason?

California legislature considers a dozen new employment laws

05/30/2018
Like a pride of lions flashing teeth and fangs, the California legislature is on the hunt in 2018. As has become an annual spring ritual, Sacramento politicians have once again proposed a progressive labor agenda.