Category Archives: Employment Lawyer For Employers

Congress Passes Legislation To Restrict Use Of Employer Arbitration Agreements In Sexual Harassment And Sexual Assault Cases
On February 10, the United States Senate passed H.R. 4445, a bill passed just three days earlier by the House of Representatives, which is designed to “end forced arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment” claims in the workplace. This legislation, President Joe Biden signed into law March 2022, have a significant impact on… Read More »

What California Employers Need To Know About CFRA Leave In 2022
The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a state law that entitles most California employees to take up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave. In 2021, a revised CFRA took effect, expanding the law’s coverage to businesses with as few as five employees. These amendments also abolished a prior requirement that an… Read More »

What Happens When Federal And State Employment Laws Contradict One Another?
California employers often face a complex and conflicting web of mandates from federal, state, and local governments. In many cases, there may be dueling regulations imposing different requirements. This can make it difficult for even the most honest employer to comply with the law in good faith. Trucking Company Off the Hook for Alleged… Read More »

Congress Passes Legislation To Restrict Use Of Employer Arbitration Agreements In Sexual Harassment And Sexual Assault Cases
On February 10, the United States Senate passed H.R. 4445, a bill passed just three days earlier by the House of Representatives, which is designed to “end forced arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment” claims in the workplace. This legislation, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law as of this… Read More »

California Employers Could Face Jail Time For “Wage Theft”
Among the flurry of recently adopted California state employment legislation was Assembly Bill (AB) 1003, that added a new section to the state’s Penal Code dealing with “wage theft” by employers. Under AB 1003, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on September 27, an employer accused of intentionally depriving an employee of wages… Read More »

Can I Fire An Employee For Sleeping On The Job?
In general, a California employer can fire an employee at any time, with or without a reason. There are, of course, several critical exceptions. Notably, an employer cannot fire an employee based on certain legally protected categories, including a disability. But that presumes that the employer knew the employee had a disability in the… Read More »

Federal Court Upholds California Restrictions On Arbitration Agreements
In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 51 into law. This legislation barred employers from requiring employees (or prospective employees) to sign an arbitration, non-disparagement, or non-disclosure agreement as a condition of employment. To be clear, AB 51 did not bar such agreements outright; it merely stated that such agreements had to… Read More »

What California’s “Silenced No More Act” Means For Employers
On October 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 331 into law. This bill, dubbed the “Silenced No More Act,” imposes new restrictions on California employers who wish to negotiate settlement or severance agreements with employees. What employee statements will be “Silenced No More?” The employees’ statements about possible “unlawful acts” in the… Read More »

Our Company Just Received A Labor Code 132a Claim. What Do We Do Now?
As a California employer, you probably know that you are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance for all of your employees. The law does afford you certain rights to challenge a workers’ compensation claim. But in dealing with worker’ compensation issues, you also need to be careful and avoid a possible 132a claim. What… Read More »

What California Employers Need To Know About Cal/OSHA’s Revised COVID-19 Standards
On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) voted to adopt revised workplace standards for addressing the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. The governor subsequently signed an executive order giving immediate effect to these revised standards. According to Cal/OSHA, the revisions are designed to “provide options for employers to make a… Read More »