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Employment Law

California’s San Miguel Homes agrees to $425,000 FLSA settlement

08/22/2016
San Miguel Homes for the Elderly, an assisted-living facility in the Bay Area, has ended its militant opposition to U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforcement efforts and agreed to pay $425,000 in back wages to 26 caregivers.

Palm Desert, Calif., buffet settles flat-rate pay claims for $128K

08/22/2016
The owners of Hibachi City Buffet in Palm Desert, Calif., will pay more than $128,000 in back wages and penalties following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Nickle-and-diming plaintiff? Prepare to pay yourself

08/22/2016
If you pester an employee who is suing you with expensive pretrial tactics, you may wind up on the hook for his legal bills.

$1.5 million harassment cost for Madera, Calif., company

08/22/2016
One of the nation’s largest dried fruit processors, Z Foods in Madera, Calif., has agreed to pay $1,470,000 to settle sexual harassment and retaliation charges leveled in an EEOC lawsuit.

Ensure lawyer knows about arbitration clause

08/22/2016
If you use an arbitration clause to cut down on expensive litigation, make sure your attorneys know as soon as an employee sues. Otherwise, you may end up waiving your right to compel arbitration.

The right way to collect proof of FMLA need

08/22/2016
To help you decide whether an illness or injury rises to the level of a serious condition that triggers the need for FMLA leave, you can require employees to provide FMLA medical certification. But what happens if employees use that initial FMLA certification to take intermittent leave in a suspicious pattern?

Less than 50 workers? Stay silent on FMLA

08/22/2016
Only employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius must offer job-protected FMLA leave to their employees. If your organization is below that limit, make sure not to mention it in your employee handbook or benefits materials.

Harassment: Bosses can be personally liable

08/19/2016

Want to get the attention of bosses who’ve demonstrated borderline harassing behavior in the past? Scare them straight with the eye-opening news that being on the losing end of a harassment lawsuit could mean more than just bad news for the company.

EEOC continues push for LGBT rights at work

08/19/2016
The EEOC is moving forward with an aggressive, new stance that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Discrimination complaints filed by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees have led to several big settlements.

OK to ask worker to finish simple tasks during FMLA

08/18/2016
Need to contact an employee out on FMLA leave about pressing business matters like incomplete work or file locations? That’s perfectly fine. Courts recognize that employers may need information the employee has.