California Labor and Employment Law

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: 80% [?]

Disabled Employee in San Francisco Wins $350K Judgment

Fellow attorney Richard Vaznaugh reports a unanimous San Francisco jury awarded an employee in a disability discrimination case $150k in lost wages and $200k in non-economic damages. Tania Garcia had worked at the Electrical Industry Service Bureau, Inc. in San Francisco as a data entry clerk when she became disabled due to eczema and started a medical leave. Ms. Garcia was placed on unpaid leave. Just 18 days before she was due to return to work, EISB fired her without warning because her disability had exceeded 90 days. Ms. Garcia made several efforts to obtain reinstatement with the help of her union but EISB refused. The jury found for Ms. Garcia on all claims. “I feel like I’ve finally got some peace and that they didn’t get away with it,” said Ms. Garcia. Congratulations to Mr. Vaznaugh.

Popularity: 56% [?]