Employment Law

A breakthrough for LGBT rights in High Court?

10/15/2019

Oct. 8 marked a historic day for the U.S. Supreme Court: The first time the nation’s highest court has heard oral arguments that could lead to rulings on whether discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity equals sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Whistleblowers protected by state and federal law

10/10/2019

Under the federal False Claims Act, employees who report alleged fraud in the spending of federal money are protected from retaliation for doing so. If a jury concludes the employer retaliated, the worker is entitled to back and front pay, plus other damages.

DOL proposes new rule on tipped workers’ pay

10/10/2019

Employees who rely on tips for most of their income might have to do more work for less than the minimum wage under a proposed rule issued Oct. 7 by the Department of Labor.

Play by overtime rules or be prepared to pay

10/10/2019

Don’t try to game the system by making workers clock out and keep working, failing to record extra time worked or suggesting that the extra hours constitute “volunteer” work.

’Tis the season for religious accommodation

10/10/2019

Planning for office holiday parties will begin soon. As you prepare for revelry, be aware that for some employees, holiday celebrations provoke anxiety.

Snapshot: Strikes spiked in 2018

10/10/2019

Labor unions staged 20 major strikes in 2018, involving 485,000 workers.

The gig is up! New AB 5 law turns many contractors into employees

10/04/2019

Under the law, an app-based company such as Uber or Lyft must pay minimum wages and unemployment compensation to contractors if the company exerts control over how a worker performs the work or if their work is part of the company’s regular business.

Bay area bistro forks over more than $172k in overtime

10/04/2019

New Thai Bistro in Alameda County will pay 14 employees $172,862 after investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

TB or not TB: That is the question in Oakland

10/04/2019

Cooking Around the World, an Oakland after-school cooking camp, has settled charges it violated the ADA when it demoted an employee who tested positive for an inactive form of tuberculosis.

Ensure settlement agreement ends threat of litigation

10/04/2019

Sometimes, it makes sense to settle employment-related lawsuits before they go to court. But settling only make sense if the settlement agreement is drafted to ensure there is no possibility of future litigation.