The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued a press release announcing an $850,000 settlement in a sexual harassment and retaliation suit against Goodwill Industries of the East Bay Area and an affiliated employer. The money will be paid to eight...
Employment Litigation
Pre-employment wages may not be used to justify paying women less than men: Ninth Circuit decides major Fresno case under the federal Equal Pay Act
All California employers have a legal responsibility to pay wages and salaries in nondiscriminatory fashion. We recently published a post about a new California law that took effect on January 1, 2018, that forbids employers from asking new hires - either orally or in...
U.S. Supreme Court: Employers May Require Employees to Arbitrate their Claims Individually and Waive Their Rights to Class Actions
Employers just gained a huge victory from the United States Supreme Court regarding the arbitration of employment-related claims. On May 21, 2018, in a narrow 5-4 decision, the Court held that employers may include a clause in their employment contracts that requires...
U.S. sues over California law that protects immigrants at work
We recently wrote about a new California state law that took effect on January 1 imposing new legal responsibilities on employers in certain immigration-related situations. To recap, the main provisions of the law require California employers to: Only let federal...
Duggan Law welcomes attorney Laura McHugh
Duggan Law Corporation is proud to announce that Laura McHugh has joined the firm as a shareholder. Laura brings more than 22 years of experience defending and counseling employers of all sizes in labor and employment law matters. With extensive experience in...
Bill would extend time to file state sexual harassment complaints
California, along with the rest of America, is experiencing an explosion of awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace, as more people come forward to publicly report their own stories. Employers of all types and sizes in the state are understandably concerned...
5 end-of-year considerations for California employers
Employers have plenty to think about as the year wraps up, from hosting safe employee holiday parties to managing year-end payroll. However, California employers should also take some time to make sure they'll be in compliance with all the new state employment laws...
Statewide ‘Ban the box’ legislation goes into effect January 1
Do your company's job applications ask applicants to check a box if they have previous criminal convictions? You may want to double-check before January 1, when California's new "ban the box" law goes into effect statewide. Under the new law, most California employers...
Under new law, employers can’t ask applicants about past salaries
How do you determine what to pay new hires? While some employers have set wages for certain positions, starting salaries are often negotiable. To gauge what salary applicants may be expecting, some employers include questions about past salaries on job applications....
What questions are off-limits on job applications in California?
At a time when it is easy to find personal information about most people online, it might seem like any question is fair game for a job application. However, while many aspects of job applications are left to the discretion of employers, there are also things...