California Labor and Employment Law

The Real Meaning of the Holidays

Ahh, the holidays. This is quite simply my favorite time of year. I’ve never understood how people could get depressed during the holidays. What with Christmas carols filling the air, the hubbub of shoppers at the mall, the menorahs, Christmas trees and colorful lights strung up on houses and streetlights, I can’t help but feel that this is a magical time of the year. No matter how tough things have been in my life, the holidays have always managed to put a spring back into my step.

When I was a kid, it seemed I spent the whole year looking forward to December. I could barely wait for my favorite holiday (more…)

Popularity: 2%

Defamation in the Workplace

Introduction

You hear it all the time: “I’m going to sue you for slander!” “You’ve defamed me, you’re going to hear from my lawyer!” “That’s libel! I’ll see you in court!” Sometimes you’ll read about a celebrity getting big dollars because a newspaper has libeled her.

So what is “slander”? “libel”? “defamation”? And can you sue on them?

Let’s start with an easy one first. Libel and slander are types of defamation. Slander is oral or spoken defamation. Libel is written defamation.

What is defamation?

Now that that’s out of the way, what is defamation? Conventional wisdom holds that it is when someone says something bad about you. But the legal meaning of defamation, the type you can sue on, is much (more…)

Popularity: 8%

The War on Americans

In my mind, I keep coming back to Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko. Although the movie was about the U.S. health care system, the point that has really stayed with me is something much bigger. It was something that was said by Tony Benn, a former member of British Parliament.

“I think there are two ways in which people are controlled. First of all, frighten people, and secondly, demoralize them. An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern”.

I think this single statement crystallizes for me the entire sum of my thinking on what’s gone wrong with the US. Americans, quite simply, have become afraid of their government. And U.S. government, in turn, has become the servant of multi-national corporations which increasingly have no allegiance to any single nation. (more…)

Popularity: 2%

Senate Passes Legislation to Strengthen Whistleblower Protection Act

Government employees who speak out against corruption, fraud or danger to public safety, usually at great cost to their careers and personal lives, have long found the door to justice slammed shut in their faces. U.S. officials have engaged in nothing less than all-out war to silence and punish whistleblowers. The courts, instead of upholding the law, have (more…)

Popularity: 4%

Teacher Wins $1.8 Million Jury Award for Wrongful Termination

Fellow attorney Mary-Alice Coleman reports a $1.8 million award to a teacher in a wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against her former employer, private school operator Phoenix Schools Inc. Jennifer (more…)

Popularity: 7%

Background Checks — What Are My Rights?

If you’re applying for a job, or want to keep one, you’re going to have to accept that background checks are becoming a part of work life. An estimated 50% of resumes submitted by job applicants contain false or inaccurate information. Bad employees who slip through the hiring process can also create significant legal liability for their employers in the form of lawsuits for negligent hiring, negligent retention, or vicarious liability for employee misconduct. Employers are increasingly finding that their best defense is to conduct thorough background checks into job applicants and existing employees (more…)

Popularity: 10%

Dukes v. Wal-Mart: 9th Circuit Upholds Class Certification in $11 Billion Sexual Discrimination Case

Brad Seligman over at the Impact Fund has just scored a big victory. He represents the plaintiff employees in Dukes v Wal-Mart, an $11 billion class action Title VII sexual discrimination case against Wal-Mart which was filed in federal court in the Northern District of California. Dukes v Wal-Mart is the largest civil rights class action suit in U.S. history.

Betty Dukes, (more…)

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New 2008 IRS Standard Mileage Reimbursement Rate is 50.5 Cents

Do you drive your car for your employer? If so, you should know that on November 27, 2007, the (more…)

Popularity: 3%

Fresno State Women’s Basketball Coach Wins $19.1 Million Jury Award for Discrimination, Retaliation

The Sacramento Bee reports that a Fresno County Superior Court jury on Thursday awarded $19.1 million to former Fresno State women’s basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein.

Johnson-Klein had been fired mid-season after less than three seasons as the Bulldogs’ coach. The firing sparked intense (more…)

Popularity: 3%

Walgreen’s Customer Wins $2.1 Million Jury Award for False Arrest, Negligence

Fellow attorney Jim DeSimone and his associate, Do Kim, report a $2.1 mil. award to a plaintiff in a false arrest, negligence and Ralph Act civil rights case against Walgreens and private security contractor, S&J Security. The case went to trial before a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court. Omar Ray (more…)

Popularity: 2%