As a California employer, you’re obligated to ensure safety in the workplace for your employees. In most cases, you must also purchase workers’ compensation insurance to provide benefits to workers who are eligible following on-the-job injuries. Another employer obligation is that you must provide proper training and equipment to keep your workers safe. Safety includes making sure the work environment is not hostile nor discriminatory. As an employer, you’ll want to carefully review the state’s unfair labor practices regulations and learn how to avoid complaints. The old saying that an ounce o ..read more

Employers in every field and industry have the responsibility of protecting the rights of their employees and providing reasonable accommodations when necessary. This is especially true for companies that employ deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals. It is beneficial to have an understanding of the types of support these employees may need while still protecting the interests of the business. In most cases, deaf individuals can do virtually any type of job. However, they may need some adjustments and specific types of support, but with this, they can be valuable and productive members of a team ..read more

Many employers may take every possible measure to promote compliance with all employment and labor laws. However, as these laws may be subject to constant change, staying up to date on such topics can seem a daunting task, but this can also be integral to protecting your company’s interests. Recent reports highlight changes to California Miscarriage Laws that took effect on January 1 of 2024. Addressing these changes could prove essential to updating your employment leave strategies to improve compliance with such laws and there may be various topics to cover when preparing for this process. T ..read more

Employees have the right to expect to be able to do their jobs in an environment that is safe, productive and compliant with state and federal labor laws. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in problems for employees, including inaccurate pay, employee rights violations, safety hazards and more. California has recently expanded employer liability for violations of labor laws. When employers violate state labor laws, it can eventually lead to expensive fines and other penalties, but that could change with the application of recently passed legislation. In order to both improve the ..read more

In 2022, the media were reporting on the record-setting popularity of labor unions. Channels like Vox reported that labor unions were winning nearly two-thirds of their elections. Simultaneously, the nation saw a sharp spike in labor strikes. Recently, NPR offered a more balanced take on the so-called “surge” of union popularity. Its report noted that while unions enjoyed record popularity and a surge of new members, the overall rate of membership continued to drop. NPR cited several reasons for this “union paradox.” One was the rate of employer interference in union elections. Employers that ..read more

The National Labor Relations Board has taken a new path to facilitate unionization of the workplace, creating new challenges for those employers that prefer to safeguard their union-free environment. Now it is much more difficult for employers to exercise their first amendment rights to oppose unionization, because of the consequences that will now be imposed by the Labor Board if the employer does not comply with the precedent set forth in Cemex. In the Cemex Construction Materials case, the National Labor Relations Board shifted the obligation to employers to call for an election when a unio ..read more

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California workers who suffer from physical or mental disabilities can request that their employers grant them “reasonable accommodations” if they need them to perform their jobs. However, the question of what exactly a reasonable accommodation is not as clear-cut as you might think. Requesting accommodations The ADA states that for an employee to ask their employer for a reasonable accommodation, they must meet the definition of having a physical or mental impairment that hinders one or more major life activities. In addition, the Unruh Ci ..read more

California employers take note: The rules you have in your handbooks about workplace conduct may need to be revised rather quickly. On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling on Stericycle, Inc., N.L.R.B., Case 04-CA-137660 that undoes the previously established standard set forth by the Trump-era NLRB’s Boeing Co. decision that was made in 2017. The Stericycle decision passed with a 3-1 vote, with lone Republican Board Member Marvin Kaplan dissenting. What does the new standard say? In essence, employers are allowed to have workplace policies only so long as ..read more

Those working in management, human resources or executive roles at organizations in California need to have an understanding of both federal and state employment laws. After all, companies have a legal obligation to uphold workers’ rights and to provide certain forms of accommodation for workers in specific circumstances, and California is well-known for having more workers’ rights rules than most – if not all – other states. With respect to a pregnancy, California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) and its California Family Rights Act (CFRA) provide equal or greater protections to emp ..read more

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) established protections for workers with disabling medical conditions at the federal level, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) expanded and reinforced those rights for individuals in California. Both employers and landlords have special obligations under FEHA, and those that do not fulfill those obligations could face legal action filed by people who allege that their rights have been violated. One of the most common reasons that workers file disability discrimination claims against their employers is that the companies in questi ..read more