Managing Politics in the Workplace

Tis the season for political debates. Unless you’re running a political campaign or consulting group, your employees’ political view can run the gamut. With the potential for heated debates over candidates and the issues they stand for to lead to hurt feelings and, in some cases, claims of harassment and discrimination, a California employer needs…

How Start Ups Can Protect Their Intellectual Property

Tech incubators abound these days, especially in and around Silicon Beach. These ‘technology campuses’ allow start ups to collaborate and share ideas, strategies, resources, and knowledge. And sometimes, proprietary information. When discussing their ideas with others, entrepreneurs need to be extremely mindful of the risks to their intellectual property. For many start ups, trade secrets…

Combating FMLA Abuse

FMLA leave abuse has always been a significant concern for employers. Furthermore, intermittent FMLA leave, typically taken for chronic health conditions (i.e. migraines or bad backs), lends itself to abuse because it is very difficult to track. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, two-thirds of surveyed HR professionals have reported…

Board Members and Whistleblowers

Whistleblower complaints are often directed to board members or committees of the board of directors and recently, a California court ruled that whistleblowers are allowed to seek compensation from directors of a company, broadening legal protections for whistleblowers by expanding those who can be held liable in such cases. In another win for the whistleblower, the court…

How Do Your Pay Stubs Measure Up?

Check your pay stubs for compliance with California Labor Code Section 226. The latest trend in lawsuits against employers revolves around violations of CA Labor Code section 226 (the pay stub statute). Under previous law, if an employee, or class of employees, wanted to pursue a claim for violation of section 226, they had to…