California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) deputizes any employee who has experienced a violation of virtually any state employment law to sue to recover penalties arising out of violations he or she experienced – plus penalties arising out of violations committed against every one of his or her coworkers, and attorneys’ fees. The potentially massive… Read More
The Most Important Employment Laws You Need to Know? Let’s Ask AI
The popularity and accessibility of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools, such as ChatGPT and Bard, have grown exponentially this year. However, the careless use of these tools in legal settings can lead to embarrassment and even sanctions. To test how reliable AI is for even basic legal research, we asked four popular AI search engines to… Read More
Firing Employee for Misconduct and Poor Performance Not Discriminatory, Even if Misconduct Related to Employee’s Religion
Ronald Hittle was the Fire Chief in Stockton, California. In May 2010, the City received an anonymous letter describing Hittle as a “corrupt, racist, lying, religious fanatic who should not be allowed to continue as the Fire Chief of Stockton.” It was later revealed that the letter came from a high-ranking manager in the Fire… Read More
Supreme Court: Employers Must Accommodate Employees’ Religious Practices
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, in Groff v. DeJoy, that employers have a heightened duty to accommodate their employees’ religious practices.
Employees Now Can Sue Under PAGA for Paid Sick Leave Violations
California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (known as the “Paid Sick Leave Law” or “PSLL”) requires employers to provide employees, with a few narrow exceptions, three days of paid sick leave each year. The PSLL does not give employees a private right of action, meaning that employees can’t sue their employers directly under the PSLL. … Read More