EEOC’s New Retaliation Guidance Provides Roadmap for Preventing Retaliation
by Shannon Walpole On August 25, 2016, the EEOC issued new Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues (“Guidance”) to replace Section 8 of the EEOC’s Compliance Manual issued in 1998. The Guidance is helpful for employers in many ways. First, the Guidance reminds employers about why they should care about retaliation – noting that retaliation
More Bad News for Employers and Arbitration Provisions
by Michelle Ferber and Traci Holian On Monday, August 22, 2016, in a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit, in Morris v. Ernst & Young, LLP, invalidated an arbitration agreement provision which barred employees from filing class actions relating to wages, hours, and employment terms and conditions. The Ninth Circuit based its ruling on the grounds
Smartphones – Dumb Problems for Employers. DOL Signaling Possible Rules Regarding Mobile Device Usage.
by Shannon Walpole For some time employers have been navigating the myriad of legal issues pertaining to use of smartphones and other mobile devices by employees. The ever growing use of mobile devices by employees for work purposes has led to a number of compliance concerns for employers from privacy and data security, to expense
OSHA Announces New Workplace Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation Regulations
by Michelle Ferber and Ben McDonald The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) has always required employers to document and retain records of workplace injuries and illnesses. Beginning January 1, 2017, however, large employers and employers in certain high-risk industries will be required to electronically submit those records to OSHA which will then make that
Three Things California Employers Should Know About the New DOL Overtime Rules
by Shannon Walpole California has been a hotbed for overtime exemption misclassification litigation for years. Not much will change for California employers with the passage of the new overtime rules by the Department of Labor. That said there are three critical things about the new federal rules that all California employers should know: 1. The
A Move Towards Mandating Gender Neutral Restroom Facilities
by Michelle Ferber and Brooke Barnum This past Monday, May 9, 2016, the California State Assembly passed a Bill in a 55-19 vote that would require single-user restrooms to be designated as “gender neutral.” The Bill, AB 1732, is drafted to apply to all business establishments, public and government buildings. A single use restroom is
California Takes Aim at Sex-Based Wage Disparities
by Michelle Ferber and Ben McDonald Arguably the most protective and demanding equal pay law in the country, the California Fair Pay Act of 2015 (“the New Act”) took effect on January 1, 2016 and offers California employees unprecedented protections against sex-based wage differentials. While California has had equal pay laws on the books for
Alert: The EEOC Reminds Employers of Employee Restroom Access Rights
by Michelle Ferber and Ben McDonald The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued guidance to American employers with regard to bathroom access for transgender employees. Since 2012, the EEOC has held that discrimination based on transgender status is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Los Angeles Likely to Be Fourth California City to Impose Unique Sick Pay Requirements
by Shannon Walpole On Tuesday, April 19, 2016, the Los Angeles (LA) City Council voted 13-1 to introduce legislation that if passed will double the amount of paid sick leave employers will be required to provide for employees working in LA. Under the California Healthy Families Act of 2014 that went into effect July of
California Supreme Court Takes a Stand on Seating Requirements in Employment
by Michelle Ferber and Ben McDonald Earlier this month, the California Supreme Court issued guidance regarding a lesser known labor requirement that California employers provide employees with suitable seating under certain circumstances. Found in nearly all of California’s Wage Orders, this requirement has been given new life by the court’s recent analysis and now demands