Author: California Employment Law Letter

Changes to California Family Rights Act regulations take effect July 1

by Marc A. Koonin, Sedgwick LLP Updated regulations for the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) take effect July 1. The new regulations represent the first significant revisions to the CFRA in 20 years and include a number of changes, many of which are designed to bring the regulations into greater conformity with their federal Family […]

Activity trackers and wellness programs: high-tech help or privacy threat?

What if an employer interested in improving the health of its employees—and reducing its health insurance premiums—could slap a device on workers to show statistics on physical fitness? Not only could the people participating in an employer-sponsored wellness program track their own progress, the employer also could see just how hard participants in its program […]

Get to the point—the fine art of brevity

by Dan Oswald President Woodrow Wilson was once asked how long it took him to prepare his speeches, and his answer was quite telling. “That depends on the length of the speech,” said Wilson. “If it is a 10-minute speech, it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour […]

Jenner, Dolezal, and the transformative debate

The names Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal have been inexorably intertwined over the last couple weeks by the mainstream media and social pundits, including a debate as to whether these two individuals’ circumstances should even be intertwined because they represent entirely different discussions regarding social justice and identity. As most know, Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known […]

New Tennessee law allows guns in trunks at work

by Kara E. Shea A new Tennessee law clearing up two years of confusion related to whether employers can enforce no-weapons policies goes into effect July 1. Gun-rights advocates have prevailed. The new law prohibits employers from firing employees for complying with Tennessee’s “guns in trunks” statute, which was passed in 2013. That law states […]

Occupational health and safety due diligence defense alive and well

by Rosalind H. Cooper A recent case involving charges against a company under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act has confirmed that the defense of due diligence is alive and well. The defense of due diligence—which may allow employers to avoid a conviction under occupational health and safety legislation—can be difficult to establish. Even […]

The tragedy at Emanuel AME

by Rick Morgan Today’s current events are rife with bad news. The despicable and senseless murders at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, do not end at the doors of this historical house of worship. The event, however, does bring into focus an issue that our country and workplaces continue to wrestle with on […]

Indiana employers need to be ready for religious freedom law

by Angela Johnson and Martha Lemert The new Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (IRFRA) is set to take effect July 1 after being signed into law in March and then amended in April because of objections that the statute would be used to discriminate, particularly on the basis of sexual orientation. In its amended form, […]

Minnesota employers need to be ready for medical marijuana by July 1

by Laurie Jirak Distribution of medical marijuana in Minnesota is set to begin July 1, so employers need to understand their rights and responsibilities under the state’s new medical marijuana law. Confusion may arise because employers are subject to both federal and state laws that may impose different standards or requirements on workplace medical marijuana […]

Unlimited vacation policies—good idea or license to slack?

by Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone Employers have long used paid vacation policies as a compensation benefit and a means of enhancing employee productivity. To keep pace in a competitive hiring market, many start-ups offer employees the right to take “unlimited” paid vacation. While “unlimited vacation” policies do offer certain benefits, the law on such […]