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Employment Law

How much flexibility do we have to set up alternative workweek schedules?

08/21/2012

Q. Our company employs nurses that care for patients in their homes. We would like to begin running 12-hour shifts and set up an alternative workweek schedule. What are the rules for instituting an alternative workweek for our employees?

Home nursing agency settles federal wage dispute

08/21/2012
Extended Health Care Private Duty Nursing, a Los Angeles-area home nursing agency, has agreed to pay $654,082 to settle a Fair Labor Standards Act complaint that followed a federal probe into its pay practices.

Court gives EEOC employee another chance to sue

08/21/2012
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has given a government employee another shot at a discrimination lawsuit. The case highlights how complicated the litigation process has become, since apparently even the EEOC doesn’t know the rules.

Specifics matter when workers allege discrimination

08/21/2012

Employees who complain to their employers about discrimination are usually protected from retaliation. But they must at least mention the sort of discrimination at issue. Simply protesting that an evaluation wasn’t fair won’t do the trick.

Court: Employee must tie claims to protected status to win hostile environment case

08/21/2012
Some employees think that any unfair treatment is grounds for a lawsuit under either federal law or California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Fortunately for em­­ployers, mundane workplace gripes aren’t enough to support a lawsuit.

Get expert legal advice to make sure arbitration agreements are valid and enforceable

08/21/2012
The Court of Appeal of California has upheld an arbitration agreement included in an employee handbook. The difference between this case and the arbitration case in “Don’t bury arbitration agreement in handbook”: The agreement was clear and obvious.

Feds dig for dirt on SoCal landscaper pay compliance

08/21/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is targeting Southern California’s landscape industry, looking for contractors and subcontractors that pay workers less than minimum wage.

Poor economy dictates downsizing? You can fire employee who takes pregnancy leave

08/21/2012
Employers experiencing economic difficulties can cut positions if need be and not worry that it cost the job of an employee who was out on maternity leave. But beware! If the decision to cut the employee was based on her having taken leave, she can sue.

Don’t bury arbitration agreement in handbook

08/21/2012
The Court of Appeal of California has ruled that an arbitration agreement hidden deep in the recesses of an employee handbook can’t be en­­forced. The provision didn’t stand out, didn’t require a signature and could be changed by the employer at any time. The court said that rendered it unconscionable.

ADA doesn’t require commute-friendly transfer

08/21/2012
Disabled employees may ask for a transfer to a job closer to home to ease a difficult commute, but the ADA doesn’t obligate employers to help.