I came across an interesting article today in the Harvard Business Review about employee terminations. The author, who is a digital media executive and Adjunct Professor of Management at Columbia University, argues that “transparent separation” is a more humane approach to employee termination that is “highly underused given [its] low risk and great benefits.” So… Read More
HR & Employment Law Blog
CA Supreme Court Rejects the “De Minimis” Doctrine — Employers Must Now Pay for Every Minute Worked by an Employee
California has some of the strictest and most complicated wage and hour laws in the nation. And guess what? They’re even stricter and more complicated now after the California Supreme Court rejected the “de minimis” defense for employers in wage and hour disputes in California. What’s the “de minimis” defense anyway? Beginning in 1961, federal… Read More
Governor Brown Signs AB 2282 Clarifying California’s Fair Pay Act
On July 18, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2282. This new law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2019, clarifies employees’ rights, and employers’ obligations, under the state’s existing “Fair Pay Act.” Under California’s existing Fair Pay Act, California employers were (and still are) prohibited from asking about, or relying on, an applicant’s… Read More
Governor Brown Signs AB 2770 Making Sexual Harassment Allegations Privileged
On July 9, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2770 which protects both sexual harassment victims and their employers from being sued for libel, slander, or defamation in connection with allegations of sexual harassment. AB 2770 also gives an employer permission to tell a prospective new employer calling for a reference that a former… Read More
Landmark Study Finds Workplace Culture Is Strongest Predictor of Sexual Harassment
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has just concluded a major study on sexual harassment. It offers some interesting new insights relevant to California employers and employees. According to the study, the strongest predictor of whether sexual harassment will occur (or not) in the workplace is the “organizational climate” of the organization. In… Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Class Action Waivers
It was only a few weeks ago. California employees and their lawyers were jubilant after the CA Supreme Court delivered its game-changing Dynamex decision that made it even harder for California employers to properly classify workers as independent contractors. As a result, employment protections were extended to millions of California workers who were also given the right… Read More
What Makes a Company “Culture”?
In the current job market, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, good employees are more valuable now than perhaps ever. Almost every one of my clients is looking to hire, and almost every one looking is complaining that that they “can’t find anyone good.” It’s a seller’s market, and recruits are asking potential new employers hard… Read More
CA Supreme Court Delivers Bombshell Ruling — Even Harder Now for Employers to Classify Workers as Independent Contractors
Determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor has always been a challenging task that frustrates our clients. There are a variety of legal “tests” that are used in different contexts in order to make that determination. A worker can be considered an independent contractor by one state agency but… Read More
And the Winner for Worst Boss is…the Absentee Leader!
A recent article by Marcel Schwantes in Inc. Magazine summarizes new research on the key traits of bad bosses. Guess what key trait makes for the worst type of boss? Absentee Leadership Absentee leadership is harder to detect and does not fall into one of the classic leadership patterns considered “bad” for the workplace: the bully,… Read More
CA Supreme Court — Bonuses Impact “Rate of Pay” and Thus Overtime Calculations
California already has one of the most generous and employee-friendly overtime laws in the country. Employees in California earn overtime anytime they work over 8 hours in a day OR 40 hours in a week. Overtime is paid at 1.5 times the employee’s regular “rate of pay.” Calculating an Employee’s Regular Rate of Pay But,… Read More
