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Employment Law

University of California settles UC Berkeley coach’s sex-Bias case

10/01/2007

On July 19, the University of California agreed to pay a former UC Berkeley women’s swim coach $3.5 million to settle her gender-discrimination claim. Karen Moe Humphreys, an Olympic gold medalist who was a 26-year employee of the university’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, argued that she was laid off while less qualified males were hired and retained without regard for the university’s seniority system …

UC: State health care proposals won’t increase business costs

10/01/2007

The University of California Berkeley Center for Labor Research issued a research report on July 11 to determine the impact on businesses’ operating costs of two state health care proposals that aim to expand health care coverage in California. The findings: The effect will be negligible …

Break concerns get airing before California labor commissioner

10/01/2007

On Aug. 2, the California Labor Commission convened a public forum on the topic of meal and rest-break rules to address concerns from employees and employers that the current regulations create confusing and conflicting requirements …

California’s sexual harassment training requirements: The final word

10/01/2007

If you’ve been looking for definitive guidance on California’s Sexual Harassment Training Law (AB 1825), it’s finally here. The Fair Employment and Housing Commission issued final regulations implementing this first-in-the-nation law on April 23, and the Office of Administrative Law approved the regulations on July 18. The regulations include specific direction on the type, length and frequency of harassment training that California employers must provide to their employees …

Can we conduct medical exams before we make offers to out-of-state applicants?

10/01/2007

Q. My company would like to institute a policy of conducting medical examinations on out-of-state applicants when workers interview here for jobs. This would reduce the number of trips an applicant would have to make before beginning employment with our company. The test results would be sealed (so the information cannot be relied upon in making job offers) and would be reviewed only if we offered, and the applicant accepted, a conditional offer of employment. Would such an arrangement violate the ADA? …

Continuation health care coverage: What does California require beyond COBRA?

10/01/2007

Q. I know that the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires employers with 20 or more workers to offer continuation health care coverage following a “qualifying event.” Does California law impose additional requirements? …

Do holidays count when calculating FMLA or CFRA leave?

10/01/2007

Q. When determining the amount of leave an employee has used, do holidays count against the 12-week entitlement under the FMLA or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)? …

Can we mandate direct deposit?

10/01/2007

Q. To cut down on the administrative costs of issuing paychecks, my company would like to pay all its workers through a direct deposit to the bank of their choice. May we require our employees to accept their pay via direct deposit? …

Employees have no unilateral right to pick shifts under FMLA

10/01/2007

You no doubt know how hard it is to juggle shifts and schedules to accommodate employees who need FMLA time off. You rely on those employees to tell you as far in advance as possible that they need time off, and then rearrange schedules and workloads to be as accommodating as possible. You can and should be a stickler for getting as much notice as possible. Don’t worry: FMLA doesn’t permit an employee to unilaterally demand you immediately assign him or her to a different schedule …

FMLA and PDA don’t preclude parents from travel

10/01/2007

When it comes to special consideration for parents, the FMLA and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act provide limited protection. Employees expecting a child or with child care responsibilities are entitled to unpaid FMLA leave, and pregnant women can’t be discriminated against because of pregnancy. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t require reasonable travel and punish those who refuse if they aren’t taking FMLA leave or don’t have any pregnancy complications that prevent travel …