Whistleblowers, who are individuals who report a person or organization engaged in an allegedly illicit activity, are protected from workplace retaliation under a number of federal and state laws, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, the Clean Air Act, the California Whistleblower Protection Act, and many others. In other words,…
Doing business with the federal government can be a lucrative proposition. However, in accordance with US federal regulations, there are certain conditions that must be met. One of the biggest ones: an Affirmative Action Program (AAP). An AAP includes those policies, practices, and procedures that the contractor implements to ensure that all qualified applicants and…
When it comes to whistleblower claims, employers in the healthcare and defense industries must consider an additional piece of legislation: the federal False Claims Act (FCA). Based on the sharp increase in FCA whistleblowers bringing major actions against health care organizations and other businesses in recent years, the need for a sharpened awareness is not…
With elections just around the corner, it is important for California employers to understand just what potentially could be considered a “concerted activity” under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The reach of just what is protected may come as a surprise to many employers. Indeed, a US court [Second Circuit] recently…
More changes to the way California companies can conduct business are are coming in 2016. While much has been discussed about the implementation of the Fair Pay Act (which, among other things, requires women to receive equal pay as their male counterparts for ‘substantially similar work’, more on that here), that is not the only…
On January 1, 2016 California business owners face a host of new laws that go into effect on the first day of the New Year (such as the Fair Pay act, more on that here). One of them is AB 1513, which creates a new California Labor Code § 226.2 and rewrites and redefines the…
As we discussed in this post, Governor Brown recently signed into law California’s Fair Pay Act, which amends Labor Code section 1197.5. The Act, which becomes effective on January 1, 2016, is intended to strengthen the state’s existing equal pay laws by eliminating loopholes that prevent effective enforcement and by empowering employees to discuss their…
As long as employees have the right to complain about discrimination and harassment in the workplace, there will also be retaliation claims. But is there anything a California employer can do to limit them? In the last few years, businesses across the country have seen an increase in retaliation claims. In fact, a record 38,539…
The New Year is just around the corner and many entrepreneurs are preparing to turn their ideas into a money-making venture. As a successful entrepreneur can attest, one of the key denominators in determining whether your start up will be successful centers on the human capital. As the founder, it falls on you to hire…
It is well-settled in California that an employer is prohibited from retaliating against an employee who makes a complaint to a government or law enforcement agency. Indeed, California Labor Code section 1102.5 makes it illegal for a California employer to discharge, demote, suspend or discipline in any manner an employee who provides information to a…