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Employment Law

Ensure your records show exactly when personnel decisions were made

04/30/2019
To prove retaliation, employees must show that the employer took some form of adverse action against them after they complained. That’s one reason employers must document all personnel decisions: So they can later tell a court exactly when an allegedly adverse action took place.

Ensure arbitration agreements apply equally to both employees and employer

04/30/2019
Arbitration can provide an easier, quicker and less expensive avenue than litigation for handling employment-related claims. But unless your arbitration agreement has been carefully reviewed for adherence to California contract law, the agreement may be struck down.

No FEHA accommodation required if it won’t enable disabled employee to perform job

04/30/2019
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act offers protection for disabled workers who need reasonable accommodations in order to perform the essential functions of their jobs. But that protection isn’t unlimited.

Court rules ministerial exception is limited

04/30/2019
The ministerial exception is based on the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of state interference with religious practices. In a recent California state court case, a religious employer found the exception is limited.

Beat bogus bias claim with detailed account

04/30/2019
If an employee sues you for discrimination, you will need to put up a vigorous, detailed defense even if you have done nothing wrong. If you can counter the employee’s claim by explaining exactly what happened, that puts the ball back in the employee’s court.

Bill would add data-breach notification requirements

04/30/2019
A bill before the California Assembly would expand the types of data breaches requiring victims to be notified. Employers may regularly store several kinds of data that would be newly protected by Assembly Bill 1130.

EEOC got employers to pay $505 million last year

04/30/2019
That’s a 27% increase over 2017, even though total charges fell 9%.

You’re responsible for outsourced mistakes

04/30/2019
Employers may assume that outsourcing an HR function to an expert provider will insulate them from liability in case of some legal mistake. That’s not always true.

LGBT issues to be argued before Supreme Court this fall

04/25/2019
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear three cases that could decide if Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees from discrimination.

Supreme Court throws cold water on group arbitration

04/25/2019
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered good news to employers on April 24 with a 5-4 decision that said employees cannot demand class-wide arbitration unless the arbitration agreement they signed explicitly allows it.