Most businesses—of all sizes—have employee handbooks. The handbook is a policy manual that serves as the governing document for the business’s workplace and human resources operations. The handbook not only provides the “playbook” for expectations about workplace practices and culture, but it can also serve as valuable evidence in a lawsuit. An employer should draft…
The United States Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-4 decision that employers have a right to require employees resolve claims against employers individually, rather than on a class-action basis. Workers routinely sign arbitration agreements in their hiring paperwork, and before the decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, there was a conflict in the law…
In recent employment cases filed in California, plaintiffs — potential job applicants — have alleged California employers have an obligation to make their job application websites accessible to the visually impaired under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), the state’s version of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Under this law,…
A California state senator has proposed a bill that would hold major retailers liable when the trucking companies they use to carry goods violate labor laws. California Senator Ricardo Lara has introduced SB 1402 to attempt to solve a long-standing “driver misclassification issue” for drivers who carry goods to and from ports in Southern California.
California employers may no longer ask job applicants or potential hires about criminal convictions during the hiring process, but they may still rescind conditional offers upon learning about convictions. New legislation effective January 1, 2018 prohibits employers with five or more employees from askin about criminal convictions under three circumstances:
The New Year ushered in a number of laws increasing employee protections related to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in California. Sexual harassment training:
A Los Angeles jury has awarded a former UCLA oncologist $13 million in damages in a gender discrimination case. Dr. Lauren Pinter-Brown claimed that while she was working at UCLA, she was subjected to harsher treatment than her male colleagues and that when she did complain about her treatment, her employer retaliated against her. The…
As of January 1, 2018, California’s small employers—those who employ 20 to 49 employees within a 75-mile radius—must provide job-protected unpaid leave for new parents to bond with a newborn child. This law is significant because it increases the number of employers who must provide parental leave. Employees of larger companies are entitled to job-protected…
An insurance policy is supposed to provide the insured policyholder with peace of mind: the policyholder and the insurance company have a contract stating that in exchange for premium, the insurance company will pay medical bills and provide other compensation in the event of an injury to the policyholder. Insurance is the only product that…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that Allstate Corporation, the nation’s second-largest personal lines insurance company, acted in bad faith under California law by refusing to settle a motorcycle collision case. As a result of engaging in these unlawful tactics, the appellate court upheld an award of $14 million in damages to the…