Summary of Program

Join the attorneys from Weintraub Tobin’s Workplace Investigations Unit (Beth West, Vida Thomas and Meagan Bainbridge) as they discuss the fundamentals of an effective workplace investigation.LaborEmpSeminarLogo

Program Highlights

  • The duty to investigate
  • Determining who will do the investigation
  • Recognizing your own biases
  • Tips for conducting the investigation
    • Preparation
    • Conducting and documenting witness interviews
    • Analyzing the evidence and making credibility determinations
  • Writing the investigation report

Date:   June 18, 2015

Time:   9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Location:  400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor, Sacramento, CA

Parking validation provided.  Please park in the Wells Fargo parking garage, entrances on 4th and 5th Street.

To register for this seminar, please RSVP to Ramona Carrillo at rcarrillo@weintraub.com.

At a time when the world is reading about Bruce Jenner’s gender transition to Caitlyn Jenner, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) has issued its best practices guidelines regarding providing restroom access for transgender employees.Beth-West-15_web

In summary, here is what OSHA says:

The employee should determine the most appropriate and safest option for him- or herself.

The best policies also provide additional options, which employees may choose, but are not required, to use. These include:

  • Single-occupancy gender-neutral (unisex) facilities; and
  • Use of multiple-occupant, gender-neutral restroom facilities with lockable single occupant stalls.

Regardless of the physical layout of a worksite, all employers need to find solutions that are safe and convenient and respect transgender employees.

You can obtain a copy of OSHA’s best practices guidelines at http://www.dol.gov/asp/policy-development/TransgenderBathroomAccessBestPractices.pdf.

Abercrombie & Fitch (AF) refused to hire Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim, on the basis that the headscarf she wore during her interview conflicted with AF’s “Look Policy” which prohibits employees from wearing “caps” (a term that the Policy did not define). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit on Elauf’s behalf, alleging a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, inter alia, prohibits a prospective employer from refusing to hire an applicant because of the applicant’s religious prac­tice when the practice could be accommodated without undue hard­ship. Elauf wore the headscarf as part of her religious practice as a Muslim but she did not communicate this to the manager who interviewed her nor did she ask for an accommodation in order to wear the headscarf.Beth-West-15_web
Continue Reading Supreme Court Issues its Decision in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores Answering the Question: When Does an Employer Have to Accommodate an Applicant’s Religious Practices?

Summary of Program

The risks involved in misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee have always been serious. A number of federal and state agencies regulate the proper classification of workers and have the authority to impose significant monetary and non-monetary sanctions against employers who  get the classification wrong.

Program HighlightsLaborEmpSeminarLogo

This informative webinar will cover the legal landscape of independent contractor status. Topics will include:

  • A summary of the various tests applied by federal and state agencies to determine independent contractor status;
  • A summary of the enforcement authority of various federal and state agencies and the sanctions they may impose on employers;
  • The due diligence employers must engage in before classifying a worker as an independent contractor; and
  • California’s law imposing monetary and non-monetary sanctions against employers (and certain individuals) who willfully misclassify workers as independent contractors.

If you or your company is currently using independent contractors, this is a webinar you cannot afford to miss. Register today!

Date:   May 21, 2015

Time:   12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

To register for this webinar, please RSVP to Ramona Carrillo at rcarrillo@weintraub.com.

Employer-sponsored “wellness programs” have become very popular, and are touted for the potential benefits to employees and employers alike: reduced absenteeism, lowered health care costs, reduced injuries, improved morale and productivity.  But are these programs compliant with the ADA and other federal laws?

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued proposed regulations that are hoped to help employers make the most out of wellness programs while complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  The EEOC is also publishing a fact sheet for small businesses and a “Q&A” for the general public.Shauna Correia.standing

Key points from the guidelines:

Employers covered by the ADA (i.e. with 15 or more employees), who generally are restricted from collecting medical information from employees under the ADA, can do so as part of a wellness program.  The wellness program must be designed to promote health and prevent disease, and must have a “reasonable chance” of improving health or prevent disease. If it is, an employer may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, as part of an employee health program available to employees, but still must comply with the ADA, including non-discrimination, reasonable accommodation, and confidentiality requirements. Continue Reading EEOC Weighs in on Employer Wellness Programs