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...

The Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) (commonly referred to as the “Labor Commissioner”) has revised the  “Notice to Employee”  that must be provided to newly hired non-exempt employees in accordance with the new regulations which became effective...

As we have discussed in prior editions of the Newsletter, there has been considerable controversy and legal challenges regarding the legality of the NLRB’s mandate to require all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act, (which essentially includes all...

The California Court of Appeal upheld a jury verdict awarding $160,000 in damages and over $700,000 in attorney fees and costs to a former employee who alleged that two of her supervisors subjected her to hostile work environment sexual harassment under the California...

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...

Under California, law which became effective January 1, 2012, (see our Year End 2011 Newsletter), employers are required to continue to maintain and pay for health coverage under a group health plan for eligible female employees who take a Pregnancy Disability Leave...

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...

It is becoming increasingly difficult, according to many studies, for unemployed persons to find employment if they disclose that they are “unemployed”.  As a result, legislation has recently been introduced on the state and federal level to make amendments to the law...