California Labor and Employment Law

Fat-ism More Widespread than Racism

Did you know that it is NOT illegal to discriminate against someone because they are fat? There are federal and state laws against discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, medical condition, religion, etc. However, Michigan stands alone in having an anti-fat-ism law. (more…)

Popularity: 25% [?]

Proof That Arbitration Is Bad for Employees

A little while back, I had posted about arbitration and whether or not it is good or bad for employees to resolve their claims against their employers or co-workers. Arbitration is the resolution of legal disputes normally handled through lawsuits by instead hiring a private judge to rule on the dispute. My view has always been that arbitration is bad because it (more…)

Popularity: 42% [?]

FMLA Medical Leave Expanded to Families of Military

Good news for members of the military.

On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (H.R. 4986) into law, effective immediately. The NDAA expands the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to provide up to 26 workweeks of medical leave to the immediate relatives (spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin) to care for (more…)

Popularity: 48% [?]

Whistleblower Doctors are a Rare Breed

Did you know that, under California’s current system, doctors police and regulate themselves? If a doctor’s competence falls under suspicion, under a system called “peer review”, other doctors are expected to report, review and, if necessary, take action against the errant doctor.This probably seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, who better to judge if a doctor is screwing up than other doctors? And doctors probably prefer to police themselves than to have some pesky government agency watch over them. (more…)

Popularity: 39% [?]

Cal. Supreme Court Rules: Medical Pot Users Can be Fired

In Gary Ross v RagingWire Telecommunications, Inc., the California Supreme Court considered the case of an employee who was taking marijuana for medicinal purposes (to deal with a back injury). When he tested positive for marijuana, his employer fired him. Plaintiff sued for disability discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, among other things. The California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA) protects medical pot users and their prescribing doctors from state criminal (more…)

Popularity: 40% [?]

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: 73% [?]

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: 100% [?]

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: 94% [?]

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: 83% [?]

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: 99% [?]