In working with employers are various sizes, backgrounds, sophistication, and industries, I’ve seen a lot of confusion and simple misunderstandings about what constitutes employee discipline and how to properly document employee performance issues or discipline. This Friday’s Five reviews five common misunderstandings about discipline and documentation:
1. If it was not a formal write-up put
This Friday’s Five lists five action items employers should utilize when conducting harassment investigations:
1. Selecting the investigator
Employers should take time to train an in-house person who can conduct harassment investigations. This person, usually someone from Human Resources (but it does not need to be) should have additional experience and training about how to
This Friday’s Five is a video (see video below) that reviews the ABC test for independent contractors as set forth in the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903. The five issues I discuss in the video include:
1) Part A of the test
In Rodriguez v. Taco Bell Corp., 896 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 2018), an employee brought a putative class action alleging that Taco Bell’s discounted meal policy effectively denied employees the ability to take a duty free meal break. At issue in this case was Taco Bell’s policy of offering a discounted meal from the
California employers have many different obligations to train employees on certain issues. The primary training obligation that applies to nearly every employer (with 5 or more employees) is to provide sexual harassment prevention training. However, as set forth below, different industries have different standards, and employers need to review the requirements that pertain to their
On March 7, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed rulemaking to increase the salary level that employees must receive in order to qualify as an exempt employee. The DOL sets standards under the Federal Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), but California employers are also required to comply with California’s wage
California passed a wave of new laws in 2018 relating to the #metoo movement, many of which prohibit confidential settlement agreements or disclosure of allegations related to sexual harassment in the workplace. This Friday’s Five post reviews five areas impacted by these new laws in 2019, which illustrate the need for employers to stay informed
The process of separating an employee from a company must be clearly set out and planned in advance. I recommend developing a separation checklist so that all of the company’s policies are followed, as well as any applicable laws that pertain to the employer and their industry. This article is the fourth article in my
On February 4, 2019, a California Court of Appeal ruled that employees calling their employer to determine if they must come into work is considered reporting to work, and reporting time pay is owed to the employee if they are not required to work that day. The case is Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc. from the
Expense reimbursement may seem like a small issue in comparison with the other areas of liability facing California employers, but the exposure for not appropriately reimbursing employees can be substantial. In Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the parameters of mileage reimbursement under California law, as well as the three