Post-Labor Day: Employment Law Blog Carnival
For many of us, Labor Day marks the end of summer – the last hurrah as the kids go back to school – the last day you could wear white (who came up with that rule anyway?). But since this is an Employment Law Blog Carnival, I thought we’d learn a little about the history of Labor Day as we get our monthly employment law update. What is Labor Day? Labor Day, the first Monday in September, was created by the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. Speaking of the labor movement, Janette Levey Frisch at The EmpLAWyerologist Firm did a great job of breaking down the NLRB’s recent ruling in the post “What Did the NLRB Say in its Ruling on Joint Employment–and Why?” Donna Ballman at Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home outlines the steps to starting a union in the post “Is It Time to Start a Union at Your Workplace?” The growth of labor organizations brought about increased protections for workers. Jana Grimm’s post at Employment Essentials on “Workplace … Continue reading
New Law – Request for Disability and Religious Accommodation a Protected Activity
Yesterday (July 16, 2015) Governor Brown signed AB 987 into law, making it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or other covered entity to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for “requesting” an accommodation for physical or mental disability or religious belief or observance, regardless of whether the request was granted. Doing so would constitute disability discrimination and/or religious discrimination. This bill was introduced in response to the Court of Appeal’s decision in Rope v. Auto-Clor System of Washington, Inc. (2013) 220 Cal.App.4th 635, where the court found no authority that a request for accommodation, without more, supports a FEHA retaliation claim). The new law now provides that legal authority. New Law Makes REQUESTING Disability and Religious Accommodations a Protected Activity Existing law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation of, among other things, a person’s disability and religious beliefs and prohibits discrimination against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under the act or because the person has filed a complaint. This new law takes it a step further and prohibits an employer from retaliating or … Continue reading
Paying Employees for On-Call or Standby Time in California
Having employees on-call or on standby allows you to serve your customers 24 hours a day. A great business model if you are paying your employees correctly but could have expensive consequences if you don’t. Failure to properly pay employees could be considered “wage theft” in California. Are you paying employees correctly? In California, an employer is obligated to pay the wages of a non-exempt employee for all time that the employee is under the control of the employer. The predominant factor in determining whether employees are under an employer’s control is their ability to engage in personal activities. The information below applies to your non-exempt employees but whether you are classifying employees correctly is another matter. Let’s assume that you did. Are your employees under your control and entitled to pay? Employees are required to be on-call or on standby at the work site. Yes. They are under your control and must be paid for that time even if they are just watching Office Space, taking a nap, or on Facebook, waiting for something to happen. Employees are on-call or on … Continue reading
Steve Jobs Tribute
The design by Jonathan Mak Picture: jmak.tumblr.com Steve Jobs’s passing yesterday at the age of 56 deeply affected me. Here was a man who dropped out of college, pursued what inspired him, and changed the world. I felt a tremendous sense of loss. But on the other hand, I hope that as his story and personal journey is told and retold, it will inspire others to take chances and follow their passions. I know that I have been inspired.