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Employment Law

EEOC spots vision-related bias, secures $100K settlement

06/24/2014
San Jose-based Riviera Consulting will pay $100,000 to a former employee after the firm terminated him because of his poor eyesight.

Nursing home’s attempt to dump union costs $1M

06/24/2014
The Yuba Skilled Nursing Facility in Yuba City has paid $1 million in back pay and benefits after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled against it in an unfair labor practice complaint filed by the Service Employees International Union and United Health Care Workers West.

Case tossed for lack of facts? Don’t discard files yet

06/24/2014

More and more former employees who can’t find lawyers to take their cases are filing their own lawsuits. Their pleadings are frequently long on conclusions and short on factual allegations. Don’t let that give you a false sense of security—or tempt you to toss out documents.

Want arbitration agreement to stick? Get expert help, especially with translation

06/24/2014
Here’s a warning for employers that want to use arbitration to solve employment-related problems without expensive litigation: Don’t expect to draft the agreement yourself, modify something you find on the Internet or use an English version when employees speak another language, such as Spanish or Viet­­namese.

Warn bosses: No comments on national origins, no matter which nation

06/24/2014
Remind supervisors that they may not joke or make assumptions about employees based on where they were born, their origins or other national or ethnic characteristics.

Don’t let rogue supervisor destroy your solid training and promotion program

06/24/2014

You may think you have a great training program that helps good employees acquire new skills and then promotes the best ones. But it takes just one rogue super­visor to sink the best training if you don’t have checks and balances to make sure it is being used appropriately.

Beware retaliation against whistle-blowers

06/24/2014
Employees who sue for alleged retaliation after reporting safety problems in the workplace have a new and powerful ally: the Cali­for­nia Labor Commissioner’s office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

OK to terminate if ADA accommodation fails

06/24/2014
Sometimes, a disabled employee simply cannot perform his or her job to the standards you legitimately expect. If you make reasonable accommodations and try to find a way for the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job, you have done all you are required to do. You can terminate the employee for poor performance.

Executive order will ban LGBT bias for federal contractors

06/24/2014
President Obama plans to sign an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and job applicants, according to White House officials.

NLRB: Ban on ‘inappropriate’ conduct is illegal

06/23/2014

You read that right. Soon you will recall the good ol’ days when employee handbooks could prohibit employees from having a “discourteous or inappropriate attitude or behavior.” The NLRB in April ruled that such language was too broad and could possibly deter employees from discussing their pay or working conditions with colleagues.