Employees are more productive if they have windows in their work areas, according to a recent study. That’s one reason the new SAP labs in Palo Alto have incorporated lots of windows. Does it really work? …
{ 0 comments }
Articles by The HR Specialist: California Employment Law
California employers face more laws – and more chances to get sued – than in other states. Aggressive attorneys don’t stop with federal laws like FMLA, ADA and FLSA: they use state and local living-wage statutes, rural codes, plus discrimination and other laws to sue employers for sky’s-the-limit damages. This California-specific newsletter arrives monthly to help sue-proof every aspect of HR. Written in plain English, it’s your insurance policy for staying in step with current interpretations of state and local laws – and staying out of court. Learn more about HR Specialist: California Employment Law and the free report you’ll get when you subscribe... 
The HR Specialist: California Employment Law
Sometimes employees file discrimination complaints just to see if their employers will retaliate in some way. Then they hit back with a retaliation claim. It’s a classic trap—and it doesn’t matter if the original complaint was weak. Don’t fall for it. Instead, make sure you treat the employee exactly as you would have if he hadn’t filed the complaint …
{ 0 comments }
Although employers can’t guarantee a stress-free work environment, it makes sense to eliminate as much unpleasantness as possible. That means establishing and enforcing “no hazing” and “no public argument” rules. Urge supervisors and co-workers who act like bullies to clean up their acts …
{ 0 comments }
The California Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in the case of Gentry v. Superior Court, deciding whether class-action waivers in employment arbitration agreements are legally binding. In a case of good news/bad news for employers, the court didn’t say that all arbitration agreements, or even all class-action waivers, were invalid—just the poorly drafted ones …
{ 0 comments }
In a case filed by a 24-year human services department employee who was diagnosed with panic disorder and agoraphobia, Sonoma County agreed to settle a claim that the county failed to accommodate his disability …
{ 0 comments }
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California Assembly Bill 392 into law on Oct. 9, he and the legislature gave California employers only the sketchiest outline of how the new military spouse leave law will work. A few things are clear about the law, which amends the California Military and Veterans Code. First, only employers with 25 or more employees in the United States are covered …
{ 0 comments }
The EEOC has brought new charges against the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), charging it with subjecting black and female firefighters to a “pattern and practice” of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. It’s not the first time the department has been under fire …
{ 0 comments }
A report published by the nonprofit California Budget Project has found that job growth in California was considerably concentrated at the highest and lowest ends of the earnings range. According to the report, A Generation of Widening Inequality, which was issued on Aug. 23, the gap between the two ends has widened in the past decade and will continue to do so in the coming years …
{ 0 comments }
On July 19, the University of California agreed to pay a former UC Berkeley women’s swim coach $3.5 million to settle her gender-discrimination claim. Karen Moe Humphreys, an Olympic gold medalist who was a 26-year employee of the university’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, argued that she was laid off while less qualified males were hired and retained without regard for the university’s seniority system …
{ 0 comments }
California employees have a right to a work environment free of sexual harassment, and employers are obligated to prevent harassment. But that doesn’t mean that every comment, gesture or look that may be perceived as sexual can be considered harassment …
{ 0 comments }
