Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2069 was introduced by the California Assembly on February 7, 2018. Currently, California employers can deny employment or impose discipline on cannabis users, regardless of whether such use is for medical purposes. AB 2069 would amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) to make it an unlawful practice for an employer to take adverse action against an applicant or employee because of a positive drug test for cannabis (by a medical cannabis card holder) or because of one’s status as a medical cannabis card holder. Continue Reading Medical Cannabis Users May Soon be Protected Under FEHA – AB 2069
WEBINAR: Worker’s Compensation and Employment Law – Preventing Claims from Turning into Employment Lawsuits
Navigating a worker’s compensation claim in California can be challenging, to say the least. It involves a detailed understanding of several statutory schemes and steps along the way. Yet, processing the claim, insurance, and proper documentation can just be the start. Wary employers should carefully consider the labor and employment implications of a worker’s compensation claim. This complimentary webinar will discuss important topics to help employers manage these laws followed by an extended Q&A, including:
- What to do and how to prepare Pre-Injury and Day of Injury;
- What to do upon receipt of first medical report or work status providing restrictions;
- How to concurrently navigate an employee’s time off of work under workers’ compensation, disability accommodation, and statutory leaves of absence; and
- What happens when an employee has reached Maximum Medical Improvement with Permanent Disability/Work Restrictions.
Have You Ever Disagreed With An Employee About How They Should Do Their Work?
Beware. Routine criticisms of job performance when directed to employees engaged in a caring profession, may subject you to retaliation and whistleblower claims.
So you hire an employee, call her a brick layer. She is a horrible brick layer. You get in constant arguments with her concerning the quality of her brick laying. You say that the bricks must be square and aligned and she says, no they look better if they are crooked, uneven and “rustic.” Firing that employee for discharging her duties as a brick layer in a way the employer finds unacceptable is, in almost all cases, a low risk decision. Subjective dislike of an employee’s work performance is a time honored and well recognized “legitimate nondiscriminatory, nonretaliatory,” reason for termination. Continue Reading Have You Ever Disagreed With An Employee About How They Should Do Their Work?
Protecting Your Religious Entity Exemption Under The FEHA While Complying With Other Laws
We all understand the common meaning of the word “employer.” In California, “employers” need to keep track of the various rules and regulations, all of which have their own definitions of the word. Most frequently, the number of employees dictates whether a given statute or ordinance applies to the employer. In addition, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA” or the “Act”), exempts certain “employers” from the application of the anti-discrimination laws found within the Act.
This blog post focuses on protecting the so-called “religious entity” exemption from the FEHA. Continue Reading Protecting Your Religious Entity Exemption Under The FEHA While Complying With Other Laws
Trap for the Unwary: Elimination of the Position as Opposed to Termination for Cause
By Charles L. Post on
Employers sometimes see a position elimination or reduction in force as a way of terminating employees that is kinder and gentler than termination for cause. Position eliminations and reductions in force allow an employer to say goodbye to an employee without having to lay out the reasons for the separation on the employee’s door step. It is, after all, easier to say the “business won’t support your continued employment,” than it is to say, “we don’t like your work.” While some people may embrace confrontation, my experience has been that most employers don’t like to frankly tell their employees that their work performance is inadequate. Employers or managers can feel nitpicky, impolite, and discourteous, when they document an employee’s performance deficiencies. Continue Reading Trap for the Unwary: Elimination of the Position as Opposed to Termination for Cause