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Employment Law

EEOC charge trends contain good news & bad

02/06/2020
Good news and some bad news for employers lurks within the EEOC charge statistics for Fiscal Year 2019.

Good records: Your defense against retaliation suits

02/04/2020
Thoroughly document workplace misdeeds. For example, investigate and act on charges of deceit. Records showing you did everything by the book can defeat a retaliation lawsuit.

DOL celebrates Women’s Bureau 100th anniversary, created in 1920

02/04/2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is commemorating the centennial anniversary of the Women’s Bureau—one of the department’s longest-serving agencies—with a year-long celebration that marks its establishment in 1920.

AB 5—California’s new independent contractor law—comes under fire

02/03/2020
Opponents of California’s controversial new independent contractor law, AB 5, have moved to get a competing law on the ballot. They fear that if gig workers became employees, as they would under AB 5, it would raise some employer costs an estimated 30%.

Employee represents herself? Prepare for long legal slog

02/03/2020
Sometimes, litigious employees decide to act as their own attorneys. Don’t assume this will make it easy for you to win in court. If anything, when a past or current employee decides to represent herself, the case may end up taking longer and costing more.

Encourage staff who witness harassment to report it

02/03/2020
Since the #MeToo movement became influential in 2017, the EEOC has focused on encouraging so-called bystander reporting of workplace sexual harassment. But a recent case highlights what happens when a bystander takes reporting harassment seriously and finds himself fired.

Broad arbitration agreement can cover even unusual claims

02/03/2020
Challenging the legality of a specific arbitration agreement is one way employees might try to get out of it. When that fails, their attorneys may try to come up with a novel claim that doesn’t seem to fit neatly into the agreement. Fortunately, they rarely succeed.

Short-lived, minor illness doesn’t qualify as disability under FEHA

02/03/2020
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act outlaws disability discrimination. It includes definitions of disability, including physical disabilities that affect the digestive system if the condition limits a major life activity. But that doesn’t mean that every minor or transient digestive upset qualifies for protection, as the following case shows.

Judges know work can be unpleasant—and they’re willing to cut you some slack

02/03/2020
Not every complaint of unfair or unpleasant treatment at work justifies a lawsuit. Rest assured that judges are often willing to defer to employer decisions unless there’s solid proof of biased behavior.

‘Bye, Felicia’ comment not discriminatory

02/03/2020
Unless disrespect crosses the line into racial, sexual, religious or other harassment based on a protected characteristic, misbehavior won’t support a lawsuit.