Author: California Employment Law Letter

Language of Prosperity: Multilingual Employees

By Claudia N. Lombardo It’s hard to believe there was a day when nonnative English-speaking parents disapproved of their children learning any language other than English. Today, many parents embrace foreign languages as a stepping stone to their children’s economic success. That’s because businesses often prosper from employing bilingual and multilingual staff. The Vast Melting […]

Outed Vets Get Benefits for California Domestic Partners

By Jennifer Barrera The Commission on the Status of Women is a state agency founded in 1965 to study issues affecting women and to advise the California Legislature and state agencies on inequities in laws, practices, and conditions that affect women. The commission asked the California attorney general to respond to two inquiries regarding the […]

Outback to Pay $19 Million for Sex Bias

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that Outback Steakhouse has agreed to pay $19 million and furnish significant remedial relief to settle a major class-action lawsuit alleging sex discrimination against thousands of women at hundreds of its corporately owned restaurants nationwide. According to the EEOC, Outback discriminated against female employees with respect to […]

Women’s History Month: March 2010

National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress […]

Who Is Your Mentor?

“A trusted counselor or guide.”  That’s Webster’s definition of a mentor. Who do you have in your professional life that you can trust for sound counsel and guidance? It’s critical to your success and, likely, your emotional well-being to have people to whom you can turn when you’re struggling, need advice, or just want some […]

Labor Department Changing Farm Worker Rules

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published new rules for the H-2A Guest Worker Program that have sparked protest from agricultural employers. The new rules, to go into effect March 15, were published in the February 12 edition of the Federal Register. The final rules govern the labor certification process and enforcement mechanisms for […]

Sabre Rattled – Y’All Come Back Now

Litigation Value: $2,500 for Meredith’s workers’ comp claim (those paper cuts can sting!) and more grist for the mill for potential future claims. Tonight’s episode has the Scranton office continuing to deal with Dunder Mifflin’s acquisition by Sabre International. This time, it is the arrival of Sabre’s colorful president, Jo Bennett, and her two rather […]

Making Sense of Scent Issues at Work

It seems that the number of people with allergies or sensitivities to various scents and smells has grown substantially. Some of those allergies can be severe, causing severe respiratory difficulties and other serious health issues. Questions continue to arise about the often competing rights of allergic employees and coworkers who wish to be able to […]

Health Insurance Discounts for Employees Who Don’t Use Tobacco

by Sally J. Reynolds Each year thousands of Americans resolve to quit smoking, but most will be unsuccessful. Some employers have begun implementing financial incentives to motivate their health plan participants to stop using tobacco. One type of reward may be a discount on health insurance premiums for employees who don’t use tobacco or are […]

Republicans Block Controversial NLRB Nominee Craig Becker

On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Republicans (along with two Democrats) used a filibuster to block Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a 52-33 vote, the Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to end the Senate debate on Becker’s nomination and move to a final vote. Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) […]