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Employment Law

Diapers and spankings: equal opportunity humiliation or sexual harassment?

03/01/2008

You may remember a case that garnered lots of publicity a few years ago. A saleswoman claimed that her employer’s team-building activities were really a form of sexual harassment. A jury agreed, giving her $1.4 million in damages for having to endure public spanking and other indignities. Now the employer will get another shot at the case in front of a new jury …

No need to accommodate Rx marijuana use

03/01/2008
The California Supreme Court has ruled that an employer doesn’t have to accommodate an employee’s marijuana use even though he had a valid prescription. Employers can and should continue to use post-offer, pre-employment drug tests if having a work force free of impairment is an important safety consideration …

Hiring tests must reflect true work conditions

03/01/2008
Women accounted for half of new hires at an Iowa meatpacker until the company instituted a new pre-hire lifting test. Then the percentage of women fell to 15%.

Illegal status doesn’t stop job-Bias suit

03/01/2008
 Maria Pineda worked for Bath Unlimited although she didn’t have legal work papers. Two weeks after Pineda divulged her pregnancy, Bath fired her. A court ordered a jury trial, which will focus on pregnancy bias, not her illegal status …

Labor unions concerned about compulsory health care measure

03/01/2008
A growing number of labor unions have recently expressed opposition to A.B.X. 11, which would require all California residents to purchase health coverage by July 2010. Labor leaders argue that the bill doesn’t sufficiently control how much health plans and insurers can charge for coverage …

California nurses union becomes nation’s largest

03/01/2008
In January, leaders of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) announced that the two unions have joined forces …

Clerk wins more than $350,000 in disability discrimination suit

03/01/2008
A San Francisco County jury has awarded $353,680 in damages to a data entry clerk who suffered from a chronic condition that often left her with cracked and bleeding skin …

Can we refuse to reinstate an employee who has been out on CFRA leave?

03/01/2008
Q. Under what circumstances can we deny reinstatement to an employee who has been out on leave under the California Family Rights Act?

Are there California laws analogous to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?

03/01/2008
Q. I know that as an employer, I have to abide by GINA and not discriminate based on genetic information. But are there any state statutes addressing this matter?

Save big bucks: Consult Labor Dept. before denying overtime

03/01/2008
Violate the Fair Labor Standards Act at your peril. If you incorrectly classify an employee as exempt and refuse to pay overtime, you face a possible three-year willful violation statute of limitations—plus the possibility a court will double what you owe. Before you decide an employee is exempt, consult the U.S. Labor Department or a qualified employment law attorney …