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Employment Law

EEOC charges down, harassment claims jump

04/16/2019
The #MeToo movement reached the EEOC in a big way last year. Even as total EEOC charges declined dramatically in fiscal year 2018, sexual harassment charges soared.

Beware close timing between FMLA leave and discipline

04/15/2019
The closer a termination comes to the end of a worker’s FMLA leave, the more likely she may win an FMLA-retaliation lawsuit.

Consistency is key when deciding how to discipline for excessive medical absences

04/15/2019
Employers don’t have to keep disabled employees on the payroll after they have exhausted all available leave and received a reasonable accommodation of taking more time off. That doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily pick and choose which employees you discharge.

Warning letter doesn’t count as retaliation

04/15/2019
Retaliation must include an adverse employment action such as termination, demotion or some other substantial and negative action like transfer to an undesirable shift. A mere letter of warning doesn’t rise to the required level of adversity.

Experience is a great teacher, but it’s not pay

04/11/2019
If you plan to welcome unpaid interns to your organization this summer, be careful. If they receive any benefits beyond educational credit, some states may consider them to be employees. Thus, they would be covered by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

How much leave do we have to grant for bone marrow donation? Must it be paid leave?

04/10/2019
Q. One of my employees plans to donate bone marrow. She will need to take time off for this purpose. How much time can she take off? Must it be paid, even though the decision to donate was not due to her own medical condition?

Appeals court clarifies FCRA disclosure requirements

04/10/2019
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act remains one of the most contentious and expensive litigation areas for employers. Now the 9th Circuit has again weighed in on this issue, raising the standard required to meet the disclosure requirements.

FLSA and transportation violations for SoCal company

04/10/2019
A citrus and avocado distributor in Oceanside will pay 45 workers $13,641 in back wages after investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor found it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act.

Equestrian centers must pay $1.2M in back wages

04/10/2019
Two prestigious Northern California show horse training stables will pay 30 current and former employees $1,270,683 in back wages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed they violated H-2B visa regulations, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

With stroke of a pen, court sends case to arbitration

04/10/2019
A federal court considering a discrimination claim has ordered the case to arbitration despite the fact the court found some sections of the arbitration agreement unconscionable.