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California

New law makes it easier to drug test UC recipients

04/24/2017
In late March, President Trump signed into law a bill that will allow states to drug test recipients of unemployment benefits under certain circumstances.

$325K settlement in Visalia, Calif. ADA class action

04/24/2017
Magnolia Health Corp. in Visalia, California, has agreed to settle charges that its policies violated the ADA.

Court: Some unauthorized breaks can be unpaid

04/24/2017
Federal law requires paying employees for short breaks. That doesn’t mean employees can take as many breaks as they want and expect to be paid for that time.

Economic test hits brakes on taxi drivers’ contractor claims

04/24/2017
A group of taxi drivers lost their bid to be reclassified as employees. They remain independent contractors.

Employee’s sophisticated negotiation skills may help make employment contract binding

04/24/2017
Are you negotiating an employment contract with an applicant for a high-level position? If the applicant actively participates in that negotiation and makes counter-offers to the terms you propose, chances are a court won’t later throw out the agreement even if it includes an arbitration clause.

Tell managers: No comments of any kind about discrimination complaints

04/24/2017
The risk: Even if a complaint gets tossed out, employees could have a valid retaliation claim.

Your best protection against bias lawsuits: Let he who hired be the one who fires

04/24/2017
If the manager has moved on, all is not lost. You can still argue that the worker was hired knowing his status and that it makes no sense to then have fired him for that characteristic.

Orientation program may not have to be paid

04/24/2017
Generally, you must pay employees for the time they spend in training. But that’s not always the case for initial orientation programs.

Carefully track exempt employees’ work, too

04/24/2017
It’s up to the employer to establish exempt status and to provide the proof that the worker did perform exempt tasks at least half the time.

Smaller employers in California might have to offer parental leave

04/24/2017
A California Senate bill (S.B. 63) would expand the California Family Rights Act to businesses with as few as 20 employees.