Californian court recently held that it was not retaliation when the employer took disciplinary action against an employee who filed a false report of harassment. (Joaquin v. City of Los Angeles) In this case, a police officer sued the City of Los Angeles, claiming...

Under California law, it has been well established that an employee who uses medical marijuana is not protected under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Because there is no legal protection for the use of medical marijuana at work, employees may not report to...

There will be times when an employee presents a complaint regarding some workplace conduct. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the process that should be used in handling such employee complaints should not be overly complicated. Once the complaint is received,...

Many employers are of the belief that if they hire an insurance company, bank or financial institution to administer their 401(k), pension, health and welfare (including group medical, dental and vision plans) or Section 125 (cafeteria) plans, they no longer have...

In the recent weeks there has been considerable controversy over employers seeking to require applicants to provide the passwords to their Facebook accounts or other social media sites as part of the application process and as a condition of hiring. The issue has...

Employers must understand their legal obligations when an applicant or employee asserts that they are disabled, or when an employer regards the person as disabled, or if the person has a record of a disability. Failing to understand the strict legal requirements can...

As was reported in our previous newsletters, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument on the Brinker case on November 8th. And under the Rules of Court, the Supreme Court is required to issue decisions 90 days after a case is submitted, so a decision was...

Disability discrimination litigation seems to be on the rise. For this reason, it is critical for employers to understand their obligations and the protections provided to employees and applicants under both state and federal laws. These laws provide that individuals...

As discussed in our Year End Newsletter, one of the laws affecting California employers, effective January 1, 2012, is the requirement to provide a notice to new hires which complies with newly enacted Labor Code §2810.5(a) entitled Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011....

The California Court of Appeal recently found that employees are not entitled to "reporting-time pay" when they report to work for a scheduled shift (such as for a meeting) and work at least one-half of the scheduled time, even when that time is less than two hours....