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Employment Law

Wage & hour lawsuits explode: 10 tips to stay out of court

07/01/2016
Wage-and-hour awsuits by employees hit a record high last year. Here are 10 do’s and don’ts to reduce your lawsuit risk …

Customer race preference? Prepare for court

06/27/2016
Before you honor a customer’s race preference, remember that doing so could expose you to liability for racial discrimination.

NLRB ambush election rule upheld by 5th Circuit

06/23/2016
In a significant defeat for small business, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 10 upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial “ambush election” rule that critics say unfairly makes it easier for unions to organize.

WHD takes $160K bite out of Fremont’s BitMICRO

06/22/2016
BitMICRO in Fremont, Ca., will pay more than $160,000 in back pay, overtime and penalties to engineers it brought in on the cheap from the Philippines.

Restaurant settles same-sex harassment charges for $27,500

06/22/2016
Achiote Restaurant in San Ysidro will pay $27,500 to settle an EEOC sexual harassment case that arose when young men working at the restaurant complained about a male manager secretly videotaping them in the bathroom.

Simple list of customers doesn’t count as trade secret

06/22/2016
Under California law, not every work product amounts to a trade secret. For example, an ordinary customer list with information generally available through open sources isn’t subject to protection.

Cal coach criticized for slow response to sexual harassment

06/22/2016
The University of California-Berkeley has promised to look more closely into charges its head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin moved too slowly to inform university officials that assistant coach Yann Hufnagel had sexually harassed a female reporter covering the team.

Arbitration agreement may not be bulletproof

06/22/2016
Bad news for employers that hope arbitration agreements might limit the cost and time required to resolve employment disputes.

‘I’m having health problems’: 7 steps for handling the interactive conversation

06/21/2016
When faced with an employee who may have a physical or mental disability, a manager’s legal antenna should go up right away. The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive dialog with employees to determine whether a disability can be accommodated. Do it wrong, and you’re probably looking at a lawsuit. Here’s how to handle the conversation.

Opening salvo fired in big ‘joint employer’ lawsuit against NLRB

06/20/2016
The National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer standard violates the National Labor Relations Act, according to opening briefs filed by Browning-Ferris Industries in a closely watched lawsuit that seeks to overturn a major NLRB decision.