California Labor and Employment Law

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: 26% [?]

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…)

Popularity: 17% [?]

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: 12% [?]

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: 20% [?]

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: 17% [?]

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: 18% [?]

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: 27% [?]

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: 31% [?]

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: 11% [?]

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: 8% [?]