A recent discovery order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California suggests that employers seeking to prevent plaintiffs with related lawsuits (i.e., separate lawsuits, but arising from the same circumstances) from sitting in on one another’s depositions, or reading one another’s deposition transcripts, will need to provide a “particular and specific” basis for doing so.

Continue Reading Precluding Plaintiffs in Separate Lawsuits from Observing One Another’s Depositions: An Uphill Battle

Co-hosted by Juniper Networks and Jackson Lewis P.C., the Collaboratory Series offers interactive workshops designed to highlight “real life” compliance issues and solutions for employers. In this session, we will discuss how to respond when customers demand that you drug test employees and conduct criminal background checks before assigning employees to service that customer, including:

  • Is it legal to conduct such drug tests and background checks?
  • Which laws apply?
  • Who should conduct the drug tests and background checks, and what are the legal and appropriate procedures to follow when conducting drug tests and background checks?
  • Who should receive the results?
  • What if the customer demands to see the results?
  • What are the consequences for employees who fail the drug tests or whose background checks reveal criminal convictions?

In addition, we will discuss federal contractors’ obligations to comply with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act, and whether that means that contractors must ignore state medical marijuana laws, given that marijuana is illegal under federal law, and in some cases, federal and state marijuana laws conflict. Finally, we will address the disability-related legal issues that arise when employees volunteer that they have substance abuse problems and need help.

Date/Time: Thursday, December 4, 2014
Registration   and breakfast: 8:30 a.m.
Program: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Registration   and breakfast: 8:15 a.m.
Program: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

 
Location: Juniper Networks Global Headquarters (December 4)
1133 Innovation Way, Building A
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Click   here to registerJackson Lewis P.C. (December 3)
50 California Street, 9th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
Click here to register

 
Fee:

Complimentary

 
Credits: Pending approval of 2.5 HRCI recertification credit hours (Sunnyvale) and 1.5 hours (San Francisco) toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human  Resource Certification Institute in addition to California CLE credit.

WHITE PLAINS, NY (November 3, 2014) — Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the largest workplace law firms in the world representing management, is pleased to announce  the firm has again been recognized for excellence and ranked in the First Tier nationally in Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; and Litigation – Labor & Employment in the U.S. News — Best Lawyers® 2015 “Best Law Firms” report.  In addition, 70% of the firm’s regional locations were recognized for excellence in Tiers 1 and 2 of the Metropolitan Rankings in various labor and employment categories. Among them were Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco.

Jackson Lewis’ “Best Law Firms” rankings follow the August release of 2015 Best Lawyers in America, in which 119 Jackson Lewis attorneys were recognized. Inclusion on both lists is determined by receiving consistently impressive ratings by clients and peers.  Achieving a ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

“We are honored to once again be recognized as a Top Tier firm by such a prestigious publication,” said Firm Chairman Vincent A. Cino. “It is especially meaningful to be recognized by our clients, given our continued efforts at every level to meet and exceed their needs on a daily basis.  This award is a testament to the abundance of talented attorneys we have in our firm, and I thank them for their dedication to providing the absolute best in labor and employment representation.”

More information on Jackson Lewis’ “Best Law Firms” presence can be found here.

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About Jackson Lewis

Founded in 1958, Jackson Lewis is dedicated to representing management exclusively in workplace law. With over 780 attorneys practicing in 55 locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Jackson Lewis is included in the AmLaw 100 and Global 100 rankings of law firms. U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” named Jackson Lewis the 2014 “Law Firm of the Year” in the Litigation-Labor and Employment category. The firm was also named a Tier 1 National “Best Law Firm” in Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; and Litigation – Labor & Employment, and earned a spot on the BTI Power Elite for being recognized by corporate counsel as one of the top law firms in building and maintaining client relationships. The firm’s wide range of specialized areas of practice provides the resources to address every aspect of the employer/employee relationship. Jackson Lewis has one of the most active employment litigation practices in the United States, with a current caseload of over 6,500 litigations and approximately 550 class actions.

Jackson Lewis is a founding member of L&E Global Employers’ Counsel Worldwide, an alliance of premier employment law boutique firms and practices in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific Region.

For more information about Jackson Lewis, please contact:

Lara Hamm, Jackson Lewis

T: (703) 483-8373

E: HammL@jacksonlewis.com

Both California and federal disability laws require employers to engage in an “interactive process” discussion with employees who have disabilities about potential accommodations. Employees who are unable to work because of an occupational injury may be considered disabled because “working” is a major life activity under California law.  Many employers are used to having the workers’ compensation adjustor handle all communications with an employee who is on a leave of absence because of an occupational injury. However, employers should initiate the interactive process with the employee to determine if the employee believes there are any accommodations other than leave that would enable the employee to return to work. Although an employer does not have to provide accommodations that are unreasonable or pose an undue hardship, the employer should get the discussion going so that employees have an opportunity to discuss any ideas they have.

The Commission on Health and Safety and Worker’s Compensation has published a practical guide for employers about their obligations when a workers’ compensation injury occurs. The Guide is available at the Commissions website at http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/.

Everywhere you turn, Ebola is in the news.  Employers with concerns about the potential workplace implications of Ebola should listen to our complimentary podcast discussing legal and practical issues relating to the virus, including:

  • Steps  to take to ensure OSHA and state workplace health and safety laws are satisfied;
  • Legal compliance challenges that may arise when dealing with employees who are  exposed or may have been exposed to Ebola; and
  • Privacy and medical confidentiality obligations to consider when responding to Ebola concerns in the workplace.

To access the podcast, please click here.

In the June 2014 Iskanian decision, the California Supreme Court carved out an exception to the general rule that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are valid, and concluded that the right to bring representative Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) claims cannot be waived through arbitration agreements. PAGA allows individual workers to pursue Labor Code violations against employers in a representative action on behalf of government authorities. Continue Reading PAGA Waivers may be Enforceable in Federal Courts

The San Diego City Council passed an Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance (“Ordinance”) for the City of San Diego earlier this year. The Ordinance was planned to take effect in January 2015 and April 2015 for the minimum wage increase and earned sick leave requirements, respectively. For more information on the Ordinance, please click here.

Continue Reading UPDATE: San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance Provisions On Hold, To Go To Popular Vote

Cal/OSHA recently issued interim safety guidelines for preventing exposure to the Ebola virus. California’s guidelines are aimed at identifying safety practices for the types of workers Federal officials have identified to be at potential risk of exposure in this country, including health care workers, emergency responders, laboratory staff, mortuary workers, airline flight crews, airport staff, border protection workers, and quarantine operations staff.

Since California’s workplace safety and health standards are more stringent than the federal standards for infectious diseases such as Ebola, California’s guidelines are drawn from the state standards. The new guidance recommends employers do the following: Continue Reading Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance on Ebola Virus

Jim Irving, a former employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District, was fired for falsifying time records on at least four occasions. Irving admitted he did not take his breaks at the locations or at the times specified by his employer, exceeded his allotted break time, and deliberately filled out his time sheets to hide his violations.

Irving filed for unemployment compensation benefits. The Employment Development Department initially granted benefits. However, the Unemployment Appeals Board (“Board”) held an administrative hearing and denied benefits.  The Board found that Irving had been informed when he was hired of the district policy concerning the duration of breaks and where they could be taken. He also signed a written acknowledgement that explained the policy. According to the Board, Irving’s violations were documented by the global positioning system in the trucks he drove for the district. Based on Irving’s admissions and other evidence, the Board concluded that Irving “falsely recording his times and locations for each of the 10 days on the district’s time records.” Consequently, Irving was discharged for “misconduct” that rendered him ineligible for benefits. Continue Reading Falsification of Time Sheets for Breaks was Misconduct Under Unemployment Insurance Code

At the recent close of the 2014 legislative session, Governor Brown signed into law AB 1660, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of his or her driver’s license. Continue Reading Catch-22 for Employers: Governor Signs Bill Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Driver’s License