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Employment Law

Arbitration agreement won’t prevent court case for penalties

12/24/2014
While arbitration agreements have their place, they won’t prevent all lawsuits in state court. For example, under California labor laws, employees can bring a lawsuit seeking to collect statutory penalties for Labor Code violations.

Employee must provide pay specifics in FLSA case

12/24/2014
A worker who files a Fair Labor Stand­­ards Act lawsuit claiming unpaid wages must actually set out facts showing that he wasn’t properly paid. Mere allegations aren’t enough.

Converting employees into contractors? Prepare for expensive, protracted litigation

12/24/2014
Here’s a warning for employers thinking about turning employees into independent contractors to avoid paying benefits and payroll taxes: If some of the employees challenge the decision, you may be in for years of expensive, time-consuming litigation. That can easily turn a penny-pinching strategy into a money pit.

Arbitration agreement isn’t specific? Court–not arbitrator–decides on class-actions

12/24/2014
In a series of decisions in the past two months, California appellate courts have tried to clarify the ins and outs of arbitration, giving em­­ployers possible guidance on whether to institute, revise or eliminate arbitration agreements as part of their employment practices.

Court: Bias must be ‘substantial factor’ in firing

12/24/2014
A state appeals court has just reversed part of a jury award based on a new California Supreme Court requirement that employees prove that discrimination was “a substantial motivating factor” for the firing rather than merely a motivating factor. However, no such rule applies to har­­ass­­ment claims.

Arbitration agreement leads to … arbitration!

12/24/2014
Good news for employers that use arbitration agreements: Cali­­for­­nia will send such cases to arbitration even if they start as collective actions—if the arbitration agreement is clear, separate from other handbook provisions and not unconscionable.

Auditor: EEOC needs better HR files

12/24/2014
Hidden in the back pages of the EEOC’s fiscal year 2014 annual report was this tidbit: “The EEOC does not properly maintain supporting documentation for personnel expenses.”

DOJ: Title VII covers transgender bias

12/24/2014
Attorney General Eric Holder issued a Dec. 18 memo informing DOJ staff and U.S. Attorneys that the department will no longer assert that Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex excludes discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender discrimination. That reverses a previous Department of Justice position.

OK to monitor email without consent?

12/23/2014
Q. We suspect someone is conducting inappropriate business using their work email. Is it illegal for us to monitor their email without their consent?

Pay up! Wage-and-hour issues take center stage in 2015

12/23/2014
Wage-and-hour issues could take center stage in 2015, with federal, state and local legislative battles looming over increases to the minimum wage, more wage-and-hour litigation and proposed regulations that could dramatically narrow the overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.