Got Labor Pains: The Blog
Failure to Promote: Legitimate Business Decision or Illegal Act of Discrimination?
Employment discrimination laws do not just apply to decisions regarding the hiring and firing of employees. They also apply to a company’s decisions on whether to promote existing employees. For example, if Company A decides not to promote an employee to a managerial rule because he is African American, that would constitute illegal discrimination… Read More »
Nothing Hairy About It: California Senate Moves to Ban Grooming Policies That Discriminate Against African Americans
Racial discrimination in the workplace has long been prohibited under federal and state law. But there are other, more subtle forms of discrimination that continue to persist. For example, many Californians–notably African-Americans–are viewed as “unprofessional” based on their hairstyles. More precisely, some employers impose grooming codes that effectively bar African-American employees from sporting natural… Read More »
Are Janitors “Franchisees” or Employees? Ninth Circuit Decision Applies Dynamex Retroactively to California Labor Law Claims
Last year the California Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, which stated that all workers are “presumed to be employees” unless the employer can prove the worker is an independent contractor based on a three-part “ABC test.” The three tests include: (A) The… Read More »
Waiting Too Long to Object: Supreme Court Rules Employer Lost the Right to Raise Technical Objection to Title VII Complaint
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects all California employees from workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. If an employer violates Title VII, the employee may pursue a civil lawsuit in federal court. However, the law first instructs the employee to file a formal discrimination charge… Read More »
Supreme Court Holds California Labor Law Does Not Protect Workers on Outer Continental Shelf
California has its own state minimum wage and overtime laws that afford many employees greater protections than those provided by federal law. But what about employees who work in areas that are not on California soil, or maybe off the California coast, such as drilling platforms? Are such areas also covered by state law?… Read More »
Does Your California Employer Have to Pay for Medical Testing If They Require it For Your Job?
The Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADAAA) is a federal law which limits an employer’s ability to make inquiries into an employee or job applicant’s medical condition(s), so long as the employer has 15 or more employees. Prior to making an offer of employment, an employer is generally prohibited from asking any questions… Read More »
Is a “No Re-Hire Provision” Legal in My California Employment Contract?
Under California law (California Business and Professions Code Section 16600), “every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind,” is prohibited. Among other things, this means that, absent special circumstances, an employer cannot require a California employee to sign an agreement restricting the employee’s… Read More »
Can a California Employee Waive Their Rights to Overtime Payment?
Unless a specific legal exemption applies, California employees are entitled to overtime pay for each hour worked in excess of 8 (and 12) per workday or 40 per workweek. Federal law mandates an overtime rate of one-and-one-half times the employee’s normal wage. California law goes a step further and requires payment for time and… Read More »
California Nurses and Overtime: Understanding Your Rights as a Nurse in the California Workplace
Nurses are the heartbeat of California’s health care system. These dedicated professionals often find themselves work long hours in stressful conditions, but what are California laws regarding paying nurses in the workplace? Overtime and the Alternative Work Week As you probably know, federal and state law requires employers to pay most of their employees… Read More »
Assistive Animals in the California Workplace: Your Rights as An Employee Under California Law
It is well established that California employers may not discriminate against an employee on the basis of a disability under both federal and state law. Those laws also provide, among other things, that an employer must make any “reasonable accommodation” requested by the employee for their disability to enable them to function at work…. Read More »
