California Labor and Employment Law

An Act of Goodness

Ever come across a story that just leaves you speechless? Here’s the story that did that to me. I hope it brings a smile to your face, just like it did to mine.

Starbucks barista Sandra Andersen only knew Annamarie Ausnes as an upbeat customer who would come in the mornings (more…)

Popularity: 18% [?]

Our National Deficit – Who Do I Blame?

Is anyone else concerned about the direction our country is heading towards? Because I know I am. Here is just one symptom of the problem, our nation’s skyrocketing budget deficit. The US has charged up its credit card like a spoiled teenager. And I believe there’s going to be hell to pay when the bill finally comes due. The fact that the world community is shunning US dollars, driving the decline of the dollar, is but a sign of (more…)

Popularity: 23% [?]

A Good Jury Duty Experience (For a Change)

It seems one of America’s favorite pastimes is swapping stories and strategies about how to get out of jury duty. Before I knew any better, I was just as guilty of it as the next person. But if you really think about it, aside from voting, jury duty is one of the few times you are asked to get up from your couch and actually do something for your country. Jury duty is our justice system’s way of handing ordinary citizens the judge’s gavel (more…)

Popularity: 26% [?]

U.S. Workers: Say Farewell to Job Growth

I’m no economist but I’ve long thought that one of the biggest problems facing the US economy is the fact that the US worker has become increasingly irrelevant in the global marketplace, largely because of the loss of US leadership in numerous key industries. Long gone are the days when US companies sat atop the pinnacle of global industry. (more…)

Popularity: 41% [?]

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: 55% [?]

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: 100% [?]

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: 35% [?]