The California Supreme Court denied review of a lower appellate cou
rt decision in the class action of Chau v. Starbucks. The issue in the case is whether store managers, who as part of their duties also served customers, could share in the tips which were left for all servers. The trial court took
Spokeo.com makes on-line social networking searches for job applicants easier and faster
Human resource professionals and hiring managers have developed a better way to gain insight into new hire’s backgrounds: information posted in social networking sites. About two years ago, I was often asked whether it was legal to google a job applicant, or to review his or her information posted on the Internet. While some lawyers
Top ten mistakes employers make when drafting job descriptions
- Not drafting job descriptions because the
employer believes that they are either useless or are not needed in small to medium sized companies. - Not listing the essential functions of the job (i.e., the primary purpose the job exists).
- Listing functions that are not the essential functions of the job as essential functions. Employers should
California Supreme Court holds employees’ privacy rights not invaded by video surveillance
Plaintiffs Hernandez and Lopez were employed by Hillsides Children Center, Inc., which provided services to children with special needs and who were abused. Hillsides discovered that someone was accessing pornographic websites on a computer located in the Plaintiffs’ office late in the evening.
The employer, citing its mission to protect abused children and to protect
When Do Employers Have To Pay For On-call Time?
The line between when employees are on or off the clock have become more and more grey with the advent of Blackberries, iPhones, and providing employees with remote login access from their homes. On-call time is considered compensable work time if it is spent primarily for the benefit of the employer and its business. In
City Dress Code Requires Employees To Wear Underwear
A Florida city revised its dress code last week to require that employees wear underwear to work. The dress code also prohibits provocative clothing, halter tops and piercings other than in the employees’ ears. I was asked to speak on the subject of dress codes about two weeks ago. The timing was just a bit
Job Applicants Asked To Provide Their Passwords To Social Networking Sites
The City of Bozeman, Montana asked job applicants to provide their user names and login 
information to common social networking sites on their job applications. As you may expect, this has caused a major uproar from privacy groups.
Just over one-year ago, I was asked by employers about what legalities were involved in Googling
Massachusetts Employee Seeks Refuge From Noncompetition Agreement In California
The case of David Donatelli is a good reminder to employers how important choice of law provisions can be in noncompetition agreements. The Trade Secrets and Noncompete Blog recently chronicled a fight between EMC Corp (based in Massachusetts) and Hewlett Packard Co. (based in California) over the enforceability of a noncompetition agreement with a former
Employee’s Personal Data On Company Computers And Devices
The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about how employees are surprised after being given notice that they have been laid-off that they cannot retrieve personal (and business related) information from their computers. The author notes that with advances in technology that often times blur the boundaries between work and personal pursuits, many employees are hit
“Direct Table Service” Is Not Required For Employees Participating In Tip Pools: Budrow v. Dave & Buster’s
California restaurateurs received a huge victory from the Second District appellate court’s ruling in Budrow v. Dave & Buster’s Of California, Inc. The lawsuit against Dave & Buster’s alleged that its tip pool policy violated California law in that it required employees to tip out bartenders who did not provide "direct table service." The