The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently issued an updated sexual harassment brochure (DFEH-185) (found here in English and here in Spanish), which replaces the prior version. The DFEH also...more
All California employers must report their newly hired or rehired employees who work in California to the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Reporting is done using the EDD’s Report of New Employees form,...more
New regulations issued by the California Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) impose additional limitations on an employer’s use of criminal history information, and expand the types of criminal history that employers...more
In case you missed it, 2016 was a banner year for the California Legislature in enacting new employment laws. Here are the highlights...more
Effective January 22, 2017, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring will prohibit most employers in the City of Los Angeles from inquiring about a job applicant’s possible criminal history until an initial job offer...more
So your company wants to throw a holiday party for its employees? Given the economy and recent events, they certainly could use the diversion. But holiday parties can also lead to serious problems, many of which relate to...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued its first enforcement guidance on employment-related retaliation in almost 20 years. The Final Guidance is in response to numerous court rulings on...more
Buried in an appropriations bill designed to address no fewer than 42 separate issues is a small, but important item for California employers.
In response to requests for legislative restrictions on the Private Attorneys...more
On April 1st, new regulations adopted under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) take effect that require California employers of at least 5 individuals to develop written discrimination, harassment, and retaliation...more
3/29/2016
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Liability ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Training Requirements
Assembly Bill 1509 amends sections 98.6, 1102.5, and 6310 of the California Labor Code by extending certain retaliatory protections afforded to employees to their family members who work for the same employer. Under existing...more
Effective January 1, 2016, Assembly Bill 987 prohibits an employer from retaliating or otherwise discriminating against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of...more
BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL EDITION: Teaching Supervisors When To Contact The Human Resources Department.
It’s September. Traffic has swollen to new highs—kids are back in school. Many have forgotten what they learned. Many...more
THE INCREASING DANGER OF BACKGROUND CHECKS -
New Laws and Emerging Privacy Rights Complicate an Already Difficult Process.
The intersection of privacy laws and employment practices can be a dangerous one. Employers...more
8/26/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Credit Reports ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FACTA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sex Offender Registry
Global warming, a decaying infrastructure, budget problems, pollution, endangered species; these are all serious problems. In a world full of serious problems, lesser tragedies frequently go unnoticed. Like the plight of the...more
Assembly Bill 1897 is essentially an effort to hold employers who contract for labor accountable for wage and hour violations, something the legislature has sought to do in various failed legislative attempts over the last...more
At the beginning of every year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports statistics on types of charges filed by employees and former employees over the course of the preceding year. These statistics help employers...more
New Laws for 2015 -
With hundreds of laws being proposed in the California Legislature each year, it is hardly a surprise that more than a few are signed into law. For employers, staying abreast of these new laws is a...more
Fine, but make sure that you do so correctly. Many employers prefer to reimburse employees for healthcare insurance premiums rather than hassle with providing coverage under a group healthcare plan. In so doing, these...more
Ever wonder how your employees would handle a life-threatening situation? Well, four supervisors of the West Kern Water District apparently did. And they didn’t just wonder; concerned about robberies in the area and following...more
That may be what the NLRB and others are thinking right now. Remember all those rather aggressive decisions made by the NLRB about a couple of years ago? It is as if they never happened....more
Finally! The California Supreme Court recently fell in line with the United States Supreme Court on the enforceability of class action waivers in arbitration agreements by upholding their enforceability. Previously, the...more
An employer realizes that too many employees have reported for work on what is obviously going to be a slow day for business. Just send home the extra employees, right? Yes, but not without considering the...more
One of the laws that was passed in California in 2013 that did not receive much media attention was Assembly Bill 1386. AB 1386 amended Labor Code section 98.2 to give the Labor Commissioner additional means to collect wages...more
Money, that is. It is a motivation shared by employers and employees alike. It is the reason why employers are in business and why employees work for employers. And it is often the primary reason for a lawsuit....more
With another year comes another new set of laws for California employers; what else would you expect from sending a bunch of legislators to Sacramento? Here is an overview of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on your...more