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Employment Law

DOL cites Silicon Valley firm that paid $1.21 per hour

03/23/2015
San Jose-based Electronics for Imaging (EFI) will have to pay $40,156 to eight workers it brought in from India. A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the company required workers to put in as many as 122 hours per week and paid as little as the equivalent of $1.21 per hour in Indian rupees.

New claims can pull in past events in harassment case

03/23/2015
Federal government employees who want to bring discrimination and harassment charges must complain to their agency’s equal employment opportunity officer within 45 days of the alleged event. However, when it comes to so-called continual violations, even one incident occurring within that 45-day period will bring earlier incidents into play.

Heard that story of unfair treatment before? You might be dealing with a serial retaliator

03/23/2015

Ever felt déjà vu when an employee claimed she was suffering retaliation because of a prior discrimination or harassment complaint? If what the employee describes sounds familiar, watch out. You may have a serial retaliator on your hands, and those earlier incidents may end up being used to prove retaliation has occurred again.

Manage interplay of all state and federal laws affecting pregnant employee’s leave rights

03/23/2015
California has one of the nation’s most complex set of laws covering employees who need time off for illness, disability, pregnancy and parenting. Federal and state laws combine to create a complicated mess.

Trouble looms when rookie replaces old pro

03/23/2015
Here’s a warning for new supervisors who want to replace long-term employees with individuals of their own choosing: They could be courting a discrimination lawsuit if the replacements belong to a different protected class and aren’t as qualified as those being replaced.

What is the protocol on asking for doctors’ notes?

03/23/2015
Q. When an employee calls off sick for more than one day, is there a minimum amount of days off required before an employer can ask for a doctor’s note? Can we ask the specific reason for the absence?

New California laws close loopholes, address labor contractor issues

03/21/2015
A flurry of bills signed at the end of the 2014 legislative session attempted to clarify liability in cases of joint employment.

Wipe out overt bias before it’s too late

03/19/2015
Once an employee shows a judge that there is direct evidence she was discriminated against because of her race, it’s too late to come up with much of a defense. That’s why it is crucial to wipe out obvious discrimination once and for all. Don’t ever let a supervisor’s overtly racist comments go unpunished.

Wellness: Big benefit or Big Brother?

03/19/2015
For several years, proponents have touted wellness programs’ success in lowering health care costs, decreasing absenteeism and raising employee morale. But those laudable goals haven’t insulated wellness programs from controversy.

What to do with painter who can’t use ladders?

03/17/2015
What should you do if an employee has a disability that prevents him for doing his job? The ADA says you must try to find a reasonable accommodation. But who decides what’s reasonable?