Author: California Employment Law Letter

EEOC Sues Over Use of Credit Checks, Criminal Histories

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a complaint in the U.S. district court in Maryland against Freeman Companies, a Dallas-based corporate event-planning company. The EEOC claims that Freeman’s use of credit histories and criminal background checks discriminates against black, Hispanic, and male job applicants in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights […]

Calculating the FMLA’s 1,250-Hour Mark for Eligibility

by Christine Kenny Calculating whether an employee has worked 1,250 hours in the past year to qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) seems like a straightforward enough task. But is it really? With flextime arrangements and employees working overtime or putting in for “comp” time, calculating the 1,250-hour requirement can […]

Appalling Reference Issue HR Pros Should Watch Out For

by Michael B. Leahy Recently, our colleagues in California brought a shady — and possibly criminal — Web-based reference service to our attention. What we saw shocked us. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including hiring Every excuse in the book! CareerExcuse.com supplies fraudulent job references to employers […]

Luck Is the Result of Effort

Roy Williams, men’s head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina, recently won his 600th game, becoming only the 33rd coach in NCAA Division I history to win that many games. When asked about the milestone Williams replied, “Six hundred wins means I’ve been very lucky. It’s a lot of great players and great […]

Jesus Take the Wheel

Litigation Value: One “Tranny Claus” = $0; One Disgruntled Jesus Impersonator = $0; Settlement Checks for Offended Employees = $50,000; Getting an XBox from Santa = Priceless. It’s the holiday season again and time for our friends at Dunder Mifflin to trim the tree and try to stay off the Naughty List. Some were more […]

How the Senate Health Care Bill Could Bury Employers in Paperwork

Employers may need to prepare for an avalanche of paperwork if the U.S. Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) passes Congress in its current form (or a similar form). The comprehensive 2,074-page health care reform bill, if passed, would impose many additional burdens on employers. Changes to Health Plans Employers would be […]

Final ADAAA Regulations Expected Mid-2010

Update: New Final ADAAA Regs published by EEOC The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has now begun reviewing the more than 600 comments that were received in response to its proposed ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) regulations. According to the latest regulatory agenda, the EEOC anticipates the review will be complete — and final ADAAA regulations […]

When Employee Privacy and Social Media Collide

By Lyne Duhaime An IBM employee from Quebec made headlines last month when her disability benefits were cut off by the insurance company after it saw pictures of her on Facebook. Despite being off work for depression, the employee had posted photos of herself on vacation at the beach and at a Chippendale’s show. When […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books based on a survey of over 1,000 booksellers that carry a broad selection of books on economics, management, sales and marketing, small business, investing, finance, and career. This is the BusinessWeek bestseller list for November 2009. 1. SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and […]

Wal-Mart Settles Another Wage and Hour Class Action

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, has kicked off the holiday shopping season with a costly expense. The company has agreed to pay $40 million in the most recent of a string of wage and hour class-action settlements that have challenged the retailer over the past 12 months. Last December, the company agreed to […]