The start of a new year is often a time when workers start new jobs or get promotions. For employees moving into a new position, moving up in their workplace, or simply putting in another year of service, new benefits may be provided including vacation time. California has strict laws…
Wal-Mart has been sued multiple times over the years by employees alleging discrimination. As National Organization for Women explains, female workers are routinely paid less than male workers at Wal-Mart, with women in 2001 making as much as $5,200 less per year on average as compared with male workers. The…
According to a recent news feature from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Los Angeles Country Transportation Authority (Metro) is planning to do a lot of construction work in the near future, and they expect many of the new workers to be women. Technically, Metro will not be doing any…
When an employee makes a claim of harassment, the employer has an obligation to take action. Employers may become liable for the creation of a hostile work environment if the company does not have a mechanism in place for reporting problems and does not take allegations seriously. There is ample…
In the past few years, we have been hearing a lot about what is being called cyber terrorism. Whether it involves breaking into government computers and breaching personal data on hundreds of thousands of employees and their families, hacking a Department of Defense database, or hacking Sony’s computer network to…
Earlier this fall, the University of Southern California made headlines when they fired highly successful head football coach Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian, while successful on the sidelines, was having serious problems in his life, which included his battle with alcoholism. He not only admitted to being an alcoholic, but it is…
In Palacio v. Jan & Gail’s Care Homes, plaintiff was employed at defendant’s 24-hour residential care facility for developmentally disabled individuals. Defendant owned and operated six of these facilities and employed just less than 50 workers at any given time. There are numerous shifts for workers, so the facility can…
Many employees are injured on the job and choose not to report their injuries to their employers out of fear that the employer will fire them if they request workers’ compensation. This is especially true with respect to many of the immigrant laborers living and working in the greater Los…
Casey v. Dep’t of Defense, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, involved an employee filing what is known as a Bivens action. This term comes from the 1971 cased entitled Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents. In its holding, the United Stated Supreme…
Over the course of 2015, California lawmakers added more than a dozen new laws affecting the employer/employee relationship. Many of the new regulations officially take effect on January 1, 2016. Employers will be expected to follow new regulations from their effective date, so reviewing all new rules and requirements before…