Just this week, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced they are joining together to prevent employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors. On September 19, 2011, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis hosted a ceremony at the DOL headquarters in Washington to sign a memorandum of
Legislative Alert: Employee Misclassification Bill Sent to Governor
By: James Kachmar
On September 14, 2011, the California Legislature enrolled Senate Bill 459 and presented it to Governor Jerry Brown for signature. (As of the time of this post, the Governor has still not acted on SB 459.)
SB 459 was introduced by Senator Ellen Corbett to address the issue of misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Under California law, there is extensive statutory provisions that address the employee/employer relationship and provide numerous protections to employees in areas such as minimum wage, overtime and working conditions. SB 459 was introduced to prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors so that “true” employees could receive the protections of these statutes. SB 459 would subject employers to civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation in the event that an employer willfully misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor. SB 459 also provides employees with a private cause of action if they suffer actual harm.Continue Reading Legislative Alert: Employee Misclassification Bill Sent to Governor
Weintraub’s L&E Law Blog is in the Top 25
By: Chuck Post
Over the last year, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin has tripled the size of its employment law department. In addition to enhancing the services we can provide to our clients, this growth has allowed us to continue presenting our quality seminars and maintaining our Labor and Employment Law Blog. Our results
National Origin Discrimination Claims on the Rise!
Employment claims of discrimination based upon national origin have risen over 65% since 1997, according to the EEOC. This statistic becomes even more striking when one considers that discrimination claims in general rose only 20% in the past ten years. Recent EEOC decisions present the ongoing trap for the unwary – if an employee or job applicant is treated less favorably because of language, accent or ethnic background, the employee may have a claim for national origin discrimination.
In California, the workforce is extremely diverse – according to the U.S. Census, 39% of people in California speak a language other than English at home. Even going back to 2002, 28% of California residents then were foreign born. That number has increased to date. So what does that mean for California employers? Last September the EEOC accused supervisors at an Oxnard flower wholesaler of harassment laced with national-origin bias, including such remarks as Mexican women didn’t “know their place.” (EEOC v. Cyma Orchids, Inc., No. 10-7122 (C.D. Cal. complaint filed Sept. 23, 2010).) Use of such language should be clearly off limits – training and supervision of managerial staff is key to curtailing this discriminatory conduct and creating an environment where such language would not be tolerated. Continue Reading National Origin Discrimination Claims on the Rise!
Join Weintraub attorney and SEAC Board Chair, Beth West, at the SEAC’s full-day fall seminar “From Twitter to Facebook: Avoiding the Risks of Today’s High-Tech Workplace”
Beth West, Board Chair of the Sacramento Employer’s Advisory Council, invites you to attend the SEAC’s all-day seminar, “From Twitter to Facebook: Avoiding The Risks of Today’s High-Tech Workplace,” at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza on October 24th, 2011.
Continue Reading Join Weintraub attorney and SEAC Board Chair, Beth West, at the SEAC’s full-day fall seminar “From Twitter to Facebook: Avoiding the Risks of Today’s High-Tech Workplace”