California Labor and Employment Law

I’ve Lost My Job – How Do I Get Unemployment Benefits?

Losing your job and being unemployed is no fun. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose your sense of humor. Go here to watch cartoonist Odd Todd’s take on losing his job.

Now you’ve hopefully gained some perspective. Back to the task at hand.

Benefits

To help you get back on your feet and into your next job, the federal government has established the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program. This is a federal (more…)

Popularity: 17%

Is Arbitration Good or Bad for Employees?

Answer: Bad.

This question is often debated among attorneys, judges and arbitrators. Judges like arbitration because they’re chronically overworked. For instance, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California had the honor of being the second busiest federal district court in the entire country, with 11,585 civil (more…)

Popularity: 16%

A Selection of Interesting Articles from Legal Blogs Around the World

Peter Black’s blog, Freedom to Differ, recently hosted a weekly editorial roundup of interesting articles from legal blogs around the world. Peter Black is a law lecturer at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. His blog focuses on happenings in the area of internet and media law.

I was honored to have two of my articles, this one and this one, selected for inclusion in the roundup. Thank you Mr. Black! After getting over the initial excitement, I took a moment to read some of the other posts that had been selected. I found this eye-opening post from a lawyer named Scott Greenfield who practices in New York:

“For those of us in the trenches, we see and hear a lot of things from the bench that make us cringe. From the “soft-core” improprieties of inappropriate temperament to covert bias, judges are untouchable. To grieve is to commit (more…)

Popularity: 17%

Lofty Literacy Levels Leave Legions Lost

So my blog has scored a literacy level of “Junior High School”.

Would it surprise you if I told you I am doing my darnedest to make this blog as easy to read as possible? As a trial lawyer, my goal is to communicate. Communicate to the judge. Communicate to the jury. Communicate to opposing counsel. And communicate to you. What makes it especially hard is that the law is rarely straightforward.

Eugene Volokh, in addition to being a law professor at UCLA Law School, is also the veteran (more…)

Popularity: 4%

Why Legal Blogs Should Be Your First Stop

Legal blogs, or “blawgs” as they are sometimes called, can be a powerful legal research tool for those of you who haven’t gone to law school. Many blawgs make a special effort to reach out to non-lawyers by talking in a language “normal” people can understand. Heaven knows, many lawyers are far from normal. These blawgs also try to discuss topics of everyday concern, as opposed to the courts’ latest subtle twist on the interpretation of an obscure clause, which is exactly the kind of stuff that excites most lawyers . . . including, yes, yours truly.

If you are fortunate enough to have access to a computer and the internet (don’t forget to (more…)

Popularity: 3%

Can My Employer Break My Employment Contract? Can I?

Whenever it comes to contracts, the answer is always the same: it depends on what the contract says. A contract is a contract is a contract. Neither you nor your employer can breach a contract without facing the consequences. That is, unless the contract says it’s ok. This is why it is so important that employees keep copies of any contracts they have signed with their employers. If you don’t have a copy of your contract, your employer is required by law to give you one if you request it. To see how, go to this post.

These are important provisions to look for in your contract: (more…)

Popularity: 35%

U.S. FMLA/CFRA Leave Lags Far Behind Rest of World

I just saw Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko“. I’m aware of all the criticisms that have been leveled at Moore. I will admit some of Moore’s heavy-handed methods in Sicko did irk me. But putting that aside, Sicko still makes a valid and important point. The American Dream has gone off its rails and the broken health care system is just one “symptom” of that. Sicko takes a look at other countries and cites statistics showing that people in other countries enjoy lower infant mortality rates and longer, healthier lives than Americans.

Being an employment attorney, I was especially surprised to watch Sicko’s account of (more…)

Popularity: 8%

US Workers: Overworked, Underpaid & Left Behind

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

An article on CNN’s website notes Americans work harder than almost all workers in the rest of the world. Boston College economist Juliet Schor, author of “The Overworked American“, has called the U.S. “the world’s standout workaholic nation.” According to Schor, average working hours in the U.S. rose nearly 12% between 1973 and 2000.

And it shows.

According to the US Bureau of Nat’l Economic Accounts, GDP per capita in the U.S. has rocketed from $15,688 per person in 1964 to $37,807 per person in (more…)

Popularity: 4%

Free Legal Forms Meet Web 2.0

Most free legal forms you find on the web are about as good as you might expect for something that’s free – that is, not too good. That’s about to change. At DocStoc.com, users upload their own forms and agreements and share them with the rest of the world. Available documents include leases, independent contract agreements, employee applications, non-disclosure agreements, etc. Unlike with most free form websites, the forms aren’t written by just one or a handful of contributors, so the quality is potentially better. I reviewed some of the contracts and was pleasantly surprised by the quality.

DocStoc has just come out of private beta and is now in public beta. The site already boasts (more…)

Popularity: 3%

And the Winner for Most Popular Discrimination Complaint in the US Is . . .

Ever wonder what the most popular discrimination complaint in the US is? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the answer is racial discrimination / racial harassment. Following close behind are 2. sex discrimination / sexual harassment, 3. retaliation for making a discrimination complaint and 4. disability discrimination.

I’ve created the below chart from discrimination charge statistics published on the EEOC’s website. Because most people who file an EEOC charge list multiple types of discrimination, the total number of charges is actually less than what’s indicated, (more…)

Popularity: 13%

Can I Tape Record My Boss?

Here’s a question I hear every now and then from clients. The answer is: generally, no, you can not legally tape record conversation with your boss or anyone else without their permission or consent. In other words, you can’t do what the FBI does on TV when they put a wire on a snitch and the snitch then tries to trick an unsuspecting mobster into making a damning confession. Why can the FBI while you can’t? They have a warrant . . . or so they should, anyway.

AN IMPORTANT BUT: if you and other person(s) are having a conversation “in a public (more…)

Popularity: 32%