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On September 30, Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills into law and many of them will change the way sexual harassment claims work in California. So, what are these changes and how will they affect employees all over the state? These highlights may help you better understand the changes that have been made. Changes in…

On March 5, 2018, the Supreme Court of California issued a ruling in the case Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation in favor of employees who receive overtime pay as well as a flat sum bonus.  In that case, the plaintiff, Hector Alvarado, worked for defendant, Dart Container Corporation of California, as a warehouse associate.  Dart had a…

A “trade secret” is confidential business information that gives its owner a competitive economic advantage over competitors.  Trade secrets are typically formulas, consumer profiles, patterns, programs, methods, techniques, or processes unknown to the public world. In order to meet the basic definition of a trade secret, it must be used and known only to a…

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees for a variety of protected classes including, but not limited to: age, race, sex, gender identity, and marital status (See blog entitled “What is FEHA” for more details). Discrimination in the workplace can fall under the two categories of disparate treatment…

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) sets out the rules that protect employees from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by their employer. One categorical group that is covered under this Act is gender, gender identity, and gender expression.  Gender identity refers to the gender with which a person identifies.  It is essentially internal and…

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the primary California law that prohibits employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace for a variety of protected categories.  For example, employer are not allowed to treat and employee differently based on the employee’s age (40 and over), ancestry, color, religion, disability, marital status, national origin,…

There is no question that under federal and California employment laws, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees with disabilities.  In fact, employers have an affirmative obligation to take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of an employee with a disability so that the disabled employee can do his job. The law has been less…

As of April 1, 2016, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council has implemented new regulations for constructing employment policies against harassment and discrimination in the workplace.  Any employer with five or more employees is required by law to have a written policy against harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and there are certain requirements…

I recently asked my 6 year-old niece what was her favorite subject in school and she replied:  “Recess.”  Certainly, that is true for most 6 year-olds.  The same likely is the case for working adults. Research shows that taking breaks during work is important for mental health and concentration, and that taking breaks actually prevents employees from getting…

When we hear the term “sexual harassment”, many of us tend to think about a situation where someone is exposed to unwanted, harassing conduct. We also tend to think of this conduct as sexually driven, whether it is through inappropriate touching or sexually explicit comments. This limited understanding of sexual harassment prevents us from recognizing…