An employee handbook is an important and useful part of any business with employees. A well-drafted handbook sets the employer’s expectations, demonstrates the employer’s policies are legally compliant, provides needed information, and highlights positive employee...

This article is Part 2 of a two-part series providing an overview of recent United States Supreme Court decisions in employment law.  We continue below with brief summaries of the U.S. Supreme Court’s key employment law opinions. We also preview the employment...

This article is Part 1 of a two-part series providing an overview of recent United States Supreme Court decisions in employment law. The United States Supreme Court issued several decisions during the past year that may affect California employers. We summarize the...

The law is clear that employers and employees may agree to resolve employment-related disputes through an arbitrator, rather than in the courts.  The agreement details the process, such as which disputes are subject to arbitration, how to select the arbitrator, what...

The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dynamex Operations West v. Lee is a game-changer for businesses that classify individuals as “independent contractors” rather than employees. Businesses must learn the new test for independent contractor status and...

The general rule is that only the employee’s “employer” is liable for wage and hour violations. However, the definition of “employer” is an evolving area of the law. California’s legislature, federal agencies, and courts have expanded traditional notions of the...

California labor laws generally discourage overtime work by requiring employers to pay a premium for hours worked in excess of eight hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek.  There are additional premiums for work on the seventh day in the workweek, or work...

The new year brought two significant employment laws that expand parental leave rights, but limit employers’ ability to consider applicants’ conviction history. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) recently proposed regulations to interpret these...

Federal and California agencies conduct workplace inspections for a growing variety of reasons.  For example, SB 306, effective January 1, 2018, expanded the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement’s authority to investigate wage law violations, without a...

California Assembly Bill (“AB”) 403, the “Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act,” imposes stiff consequences on Members of the Legislature or legislative employees who interfere with a legislative employee’s right to make a “protected disclosure.”  The new...

It is important for management and owners of small businesses to become familiar with the many laws that allow employees to take time off from work. The key feature of these statutes is job protection – employers are prohibited from firing or taking other negative...

2017 saw its share of natural disasters in California, including devastating wildfires. Mudslides and an earthquake already have occurred in 2018. Along with the terrible losses, a natural disaster can significantly disrupt business operations, affecting employees and...