Terminating an employee can present significant legal risk if not handled carefully. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin attorneys Nikki Mahmoudi and John Slavik discuss best practices and key considerations employers should evaluate before making a termination decision.

Continue Reading California Employment News: Considerations for Employee Termination

When an employment relationship ends, California employers have specific legal obligations they must meet. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin associates Nikki Mahmoudi and Chris Horsley provide a practical refresher on final pay requirements and the key notices employers should be prepared to deliver.

Continue Reading California Employment News: Document Checklist for Departing Employees

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in hiring, performance management, and workplace decision making. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin Shareholder Meagan D. Bainbridge and Senior Attorney Jackie Simonovich discuss practical steps employers should take when implementing AI and how to conduct meaningful bias audits.

In this episode they cover:

Continue Reading California Employment News: Navigating AI Compliance: Employer Best Practices Pt. 2

AI is showing up in hiring, recruiting, performance management, and employee monitoring. While these tools promise efficiency, they can also create significant legal risk if they result in discriminatory outcomes. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin attorneys Jackie Simonovich and Lukas Clary discuss how employer use of AI can implicate Title VII, the ADA, and FEHA, and review key new California AI laws and deadlines.

Continue Reading California Employment News: Navigating AI Compliance: Employer Best Practices Pt.1

Although allowing a budding chef to “stage” in a restaurant is a long-standing tradition, using an unpaid stage in California is recipe for a wage-and-hour claim.  In this article we explore how even a short shift creates long exposure for California restauranteurs. 

Allowing an individual to stage whether under the guise of a trial shift, working interview, or unpaid internship—raises acute wage-and-hour and liability concerns. In short, an unpaid stage is permissible in California only if the arrangement qualifies as a bona fide internship under the state’s stringent interpretation of the federal “primary beneficiary” framework, which California applies narrowly. To be lawful, the arrangement must primarily benefit the intern, not the restaurant. 

Continue Reading All Sizzle, No Safety Net: The Legal Risks of Restaurant Stages