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Employment Law

Warning letter doesn’t count as retaliation

04/15/2019
Retaliation must include an adverse employment action such as termination, demotion or some other substantial and negative action like transfer to an undesirable shift. A mere letter of warning doesn’t rise to the required level of adversity.

Experience is a great teacher, but it’s not pay

04/11/2019
If you plan to welcome unpaid interns to your organization this summer, be careful. If they receive any benefits beyond educational credit, some states may consider them to be employees. Thus, they would be covered by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

How much leave do we have to grant for bone marrow donation? Must it be paid leave?

04/10/2019
Q. One of my employees plans to donate bone marrow. She will need to take time off for this purpose. How much time can she take off? Must it be paid, even though the decision to donate was not due to her own medical condition?

Appeals court clarifies FCRA disclosure requirements

04/10/2019
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act remains one of the most contentious and expensive litigation areas for employers. Now the 9th Circuit has again weighed in on this issue, raising the standard required to meet the disclosure requirements.

FLSA and transportation violations for SoCal company

04/10/2019
A citrus and avocado distributor in Oceanside will pay 45 workers $13,641 in back wages after investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor found it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act.

Equestrian centers must pay $1.2M in back wages

04/10/2019
Two prestigious Northern California show horse training stables will pay 30 current and former employees $1,270,683 in back wages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed they violated H-2B visa regulations, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

With stroke of a pen, court sends case to arbitration

04/10/2019
A federal court considering a discrimination claim has ordered the case to arbitration despite the fact the court found some sections of the arbitration agreement unconscionable.

Class-action addresses H-1Bs and national origin bias

04/10/2019
A class of white, American former IT workers have been given the go-ahead to sue a company that employs large numbers of H-1B visa holders who are predominately from South Asia.

Griping about minor rulebreaking doesn’t count as whistleblowing

04/10/2019
Do you have employees who are always tattling on co-workers about minor rulebreaking? If so, don’t worry too much that the complaining employee can spin that into protected activity under the California Labor Code’s whistleblowing provisions.

No interference with obtaining employment if ex-employee already has job

04/10/2019
California’s Labor Code includes provisions to protect former employees from attempts to interfere with their ability to get a new job. Now a California appeals court has clarified that this only applies to efforts to obtain employment, and not to misrepresentation after the former employee has begun work.