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It’s not unusual for employers to have a policy prohibiting workers from disclosing their salary to colleagues. And many a star employee has gotten a big bonus but been warned in hushed tones not to tell co-workers about it. What many employers don’t know is that both these practices are against the law. And, as […]
A Tosco worker injured in a catastrophic 1999 explosion and fire at the company’s Martinez refinery and the family of another worker killed in the disaster have filed a lawsuit against Tosco. Employees who are injured on the job are generally limited to workers’ comp benefits. But this lawsuit attempts to sidestep this restriction by […]
A free new 10-page “fact sheet” designed to be given to injured workers has been developed by the state Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation. “Working After a Job Injury” explains employees’ rights and responsibilities in returning to work after a workplace injury. It covers such issues as work restrictions, modified jobs, disability […]
In a dispute over an employer’s workers’ comp return-to-work policy, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to overturn a $2.5 million award to an employee of Dillard Department Stores in Nevada. Deloris Beckwith, a 64-year-old sales manager, hurt her back on the job and filed a workers’ comp claim. Beckwith charged Dillard tried to make […]
Loren Peterson, the former president of financial printer Bowne of Los Angeles, was fired after allegedly admitting he violated the company’s sexual harassment policy. The incident involved comments he was accused of making while dancing with secretary Maria Gonzales on a company-sponsored trip to Club Med. But Peterson charged that the company used this as […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled that a negative performance evaluation didn’t support an employee’s retaliation claim because the employer promptly corrected the problem. Aybike Kortan, a clinical psychologist with the California Youth Authority, received a bad review after she complained about a supervisor’s harassment. The court said the poor review, while retaliatory, […]
A San Francisco jury has ordered the nation’s largest wholesale baker to pay $11 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $120 million in punitive damages to African-American workers who said they were subjected to racial slurs, unequal treatment and other indignities by co-workers and supervisors at three Bay Area plants. Workers testified that they […]
As we went to press, the current state legislative session was drawing to a close, and a host of important bills that could significantly impact employers were pending. Here’s a rundown on key employment legislation on the docket in Sacramento and a quick overview of new federal laws under consideration.
Sandy Baratta, an Oracle vice president, was at San Francisco International Airport waiting to board a plane when she discovered her ticket was canceled. She called Oracle and was told she had been fired. Baratta sued, accusing Oracle of terminating her because she was five months pregnant and because she had insisted on an investigation […]
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a plan to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour for about 21,000 workers employed by private employers with city contracts and non-profit agencies that provide the city with social services. The proposal, which was supported by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, includes a hike […]