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Employment Law

One-Size-Fits-All harassment reporting policies don’t really fit all

03/01/2008
If you downloaded your company handbook from the Internet or took it with you from your last job—beware! Take a look at your anti-harassment policy’s reporting procedures. A new court ruling shows why you should take your policy out, dust it off and look it over closely … at least before a jury does …

Documentation key to showing prompt, fair investigation

03/01/2008
Discrimination lawsuits can take years to resolve, and memories fade over time. That’s one reason to take careful notes during your initial investigation. Be sure to record exactly what the alleged victim says happened. You don’t want to be blindsided later …

Directors and volunteers don’t count as employees

03/01/2008
The ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) covers employers with 20 or more employees. Pretty clear, right? But whom you count is crucial, especially if your head count is right on the cusp of the ADA or ADEA threshold …

Employees don’t have to use ineffective grievance process

03/01/2008
Employers in a union environment may think that all employees have to follow the collective bargaining agreement to resolve discrimination claims. But if that process is tainted or woefully inadequate, employees can sue under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act instead …

Don’t hide mandatory arbitration clause in application

03/01/2008

If you want to avoid expensive and time-consuming legal fights and the uncertainty a jury brings to the equation, a mandatory arbitration agreement might seem like the most attractive way to settle employment law disputes. By pushing legal challenges into arbitration, you may save time and money—but only if you can get the agreement to stick …

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 …