California employers should be prepared to welcome support dogs and other animals into the workplace as a reasonable accommodation for disabled workers requiring support under new disability regulations issued by the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission. The new regulations significantly expand protections for disabled workers and outline new requirements regarding reasonable accommodations, the interactive
California Court Of Appeal Rules Refusal To Cooperate With Company Investigation or Giving False Information To Company Investigator Is Not Protected By FEHA
A California court of appeal has recently ruled that an employee is not protected by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) for refusing to participate in or cooperate with a Company investigation into misconduct. McGrory v. Applied Signal Tech., Inc., (Cal Ct. App. No. H036597, 1/24/2013). In McGrory, California’s Sixth Appellate District rejected
California Upholds Labor Anti-Injunction Statutes
The California Supreme Court has ruled that unions may continue to engage in “peaceful” picketing and other otherwise lawful union activities on an employer’s private property during a labor dispute and that two California anti-injunction statutes regarding labor activities do not run afoul of the First or Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Ralphs Grocery
Enforcement of California Website Online Privacy Law Begins
Our colleague at the Workplace Privacy Blog has reported that the California Attorney General has started to enforce the state’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Regardless whether a company is located in California, the Act requires any company that maintains a website that collects personal information about Californians to maintain a privacy policy on the site.
California Supreme Court to Review whether Employer’s Insurance Applied to Accident Caused by Employee Driving his Car while Working
In a case that could impact employers whose employees use their own vehicles for work, the California Supreme Court granted review to address whether an employer’s insurance policy covered a deadly automobile accident caused by an employee driving his own car. American States Ins. Co. v. Ramirez, No. S205073 (Cal. Oct. 24, 2012)
A California Court of Appeal Permits Class Action Regarding Independent Contractor Status But Affirms Denial of Class Certification For Unpaid Overtime and Meal and Rest Period Violations
A new case presents a mixed bag of results for California employers. As a general matter, California employers should be careful when classifying individuals as independent contractors, rather than employees. Reversing the denial of class certification in an action for various Labor Code violations, a California Court of Appeal held that whether newspaper delivery
Court of Appeal Rules Independent Contractor Status Beyond the Scope of Poorly Drafted Arbitration Agreement
Employers must carefully draft arbitration agreements and ensure the agreements are regularly updated for compliance with state and federal law. A California Court of Appeal held that owner-operator truck drivers were not required to arbitrate whether they were misclassified as independent contractors where the parties’ arbitration agreements applied to any dispute that arose “with
Employee Who Did Not Sign Arbitration Agreement is Not Required to Arbitrate Claims
Another arbitration case which is unfavorable to employers. A California Court of Appeal ruled that a human resources director who never signed the employer’s arbitration agreement, concealed that fact from her employer, and quit her job before doing so, could not be required to arbitrate her employment claims. Gorlach v. The Sports Club, No.
California Becomes Third State to Limit Access to Employees and Students’ Social Media Accounts
Written by: Joseph Lazzarotti
Late last week, California Governor Jerry Brown "took to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace to announce that he has signed two bills that increase privacy protections for social media users in California."
As discussed, one of the bills, A.B. 1844, updates California’s Labor Code to significantly limit when employers could ask employees and job
The Elimination of the Fair Employment and Housing Commission Provides Far Greater Authority to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing
In a move intended to reduce spending and increase efficiency amid continuing budget difficulties, Governor Brown recently signed Senate Bill 1038 which will, among other things, eliminate the Fair Employment and Housing Commission effective January 1, 2013. The duties of the Commission, primarily rulemaking and the administrative adjudication of discrimination claims, will be assumed in