Legal News and Updates
Update – Sacramento County Essential Business Requirements
The Health Officer of Sacramento County has issued a new mandatory shelter-in-place order effective April 7, 2020. This new Order supersedes the March 19, 2020 Order issued by the Health Officer, and strengthens certain requirements. Most of the Order remains...
Webinar: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
In this webinar presented on March 27, 2020, Attorney Christina Bucci Hamilton discusses the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and related employment law issues.
Federal Court to Apply Troester to Nike Employee Inspection Times
It is well known that California state labor and employment laws tend to be more pro-employee than corresponding federal laws. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that if you make your employees stand in line before they leave so you can inspect their bags to ensure...
Bill Would Extend Time to File State Work Discrimination Claims
Current California law provides that an employee who claims to have been the victim of unlawful discrimination or harassment must file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one-year of the unlawful practice before they can file a civil...
Pregnancy Discrimination Trial in Napa Against Restaurant Group
On June 3, a pregnancy discrimination trial began in Napa County Superior Court in which a restaurant server alleged that a job transfer from her New York workplace to the company's location in Yountville fell through because of pregnancy discrimination....
Comprehensive Employee Handbooks a Must for California Employers
An employee handbook is a document that communicates your company's mission, policies and expectations. Employers give this to employees to clarify their rights and responsibilities while they're employed with the company. Beyond their value in running an...
Filing Discrimination Claim with EEOC First Not Jurisdictional
A recent unanimous employment discrimination case out of the U.S. Supreme Court has important takeaways for California employers. Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis decides an unsettled legal question about Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the main federal...
New Proposals for Expanding Paid Parental Leave in California
As part of his budget proposals in January, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced support for a change in state law that would allow new parents to take six months of parental leave while receiving partial wage replacement. Families could allocate the time to one...
Claim Against Disney for Unequal Pay
In early April, two female employees filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County against The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Pictures, and Hollywood Records Inc (collectively "Disney.") The allegations of the lawsuit are that Disney pays them,...
Intersection Between ‘Ban-the-Box’ Law and Negligent Hiring Claims
Since January 1, 2018, California has had a "ban-the-box" law that prohibits most employers in the state with five or more employees from asking in the initial stages of the onboarding process whether job applicants have had criminal convictions. We discussed the law...