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Employment Law

Court: Unsigned arbitration agreement enforceable

06/06/2019
A California appeals court has upheld an arbitration agreement presented to employees as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition that implied their acceptance even if they didn’t sign it.

Sexist supervisor? Keep him away from victims, scrutinize his decisions and actions

06/06/2019
If you hear reports that a supervisor or manager with authority over female employees is making sexist statements, act immediately to put an end to it.

California bill would triple time to file bias claims

06/06/2019
A bill before the California Assembly would expand the amount of time employees have to file harassment or discrimination claims under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act from the current one year to three years after the last discriminatory act.

Take proactive steps to assert at-will status

06/06/2019
A former employee who contests a termination in court may overcome the at-will presumption by presenting some evidence that there was either a specific written agreement spelling out employment terms or an implied agreement that employment would continue for an indefinite period of time unless there was some good cause for termination.

Before signing settlement, consider other filings

06/06/2019
Sometimes, an employee files several discrimination complaints about incidents that are allegedly related. If you’re thinking about settling one complaint, be aware that other, related claims may remain outstanding.

Pulled job offer: $80K case of pregnancy bias

06/06/2019
Just as you can’t fire an employee because she is pregnant, you can’t refuse to hire an applicant because she is expecting. Both are forms of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Snapshot: The closer the comparison, the smaller the pay gap

06/04/2019
Nationwide, women earn about 18% less than men. But pay differentials shrink dramatically the more women have in common with male counterparts.

Employers must advise courts of EEOC complaints

06/04/2019
A unanimous Supreme Court ruled June 3 that employers that are sued for employment discrimination under Title VII must tell the court early on whether the employee who is suing has also filed an EEOC complaint. If they don’t raise the issue then, they lose the right to do so.

Settlement: Dads have paid leave rights, too

06/04/2019
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase must pay $5 million to settle claims it discriminated against men who wanted to take time off after their children were born, but were granted less generous leave benefits than new moms received.

Good faith wins, even if you might have been wrong

05/31/2019
Courts almost never second-guess employers’ decisions—even dubious ones—as long as they are confident the decisions were made in good faith.