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Employment Law

NLRB targets at-will disclaimers, off-duty employee access

09/21/2012
Recent months have seen the NLRB take efforts to regulate employer activity in new and often unprecedented ways. Two recent attacks include challenges to “at-will” statements and disclaimers in employee handbooks and restrictions on an employer’s right to limit access to its property by off-duty employees.

Fry’s pays $2.3 million to settle harassment complaint

09/21/2012
Fry’s Electronics, which operates 17 stores in California, will pay $2.3 million to settle sexual harassment and retaliation complaints arising from incidents at a store in Washington. On a per-claimant basis, the case resulted in one of the largest settlements the EEOC has ever negotiated.

Cooked books pad Thai restaurants’ earnings

09/21/2012
A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has uncovered willful FLSA violations by two Chan Dara Thai restaurants in Los Angeles.

Compliance initiative for L.A., San Francisco restaurants

09/21/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced an enforcement and education initiative focused on the restaurant industries in Los Angeles and San Francisco designed to ensure FLSA compliance.

DOL: Did Happy Hands dip into paychecks?

09/21/2012
The DOL has filed a lawsuit against Happy Hands Car Wash in Santa Ana, seeking back wages and liquidated damages. A Wage and Hour Division investigation found the car wash was manipulating its payroll records in order to underpay employees.

Strict noncompete agreement? Don’t expect it to stick

09/21/2012
Here’s a warning if you use so-called noncompete agreements in your employment contracts: California courts generally don’t like them and are often quite hesitant to enforce them.

Injury while commuting to swapped shift? That doesn’t warrant workers’ comp

09/21/2012
Good news after a potentially expansive decision on liability for commute-time accidents: The Court of Appeal of California has overturned a workers’ compensation award to an employee who was in an accident on his way to work a swapped shift.

Making economic argument for staff cuts? Better make sure the math adds up

09/21/2012
Here’s something for small business owners to consider when purporting to terminate an employee for financial reasons. If the owner spends lavishly elsewhere, that may be evidence that money was just an excuse for a discriminatory termination.

Bullet-proof your promotions process

09/21/2012

Your best defense to a failure-to-promote claim is proof that you posted the job but the employee never applied. But how do you prove that? With a policy that requires posting all internal openings and also requires employees to express their interest by actually applying …

Señor Fish on the hook for underpaying hourly wages

09/21/2012
Los Angeles-area restaurant chain Señor Fish has agreed to a settle a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit with the DOL. An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division revealed the taquería business paid its employees “straight time” for all hours worked …