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Bulletin Item: EEOC Says Job Bias Complaints Are On The Rise

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported that workplace discrimination complaints filed by employees in the private sector were up 4.5% in 2002, to the highest level in seven years. The types of bias complaints that saw the greatest increases were those based on religion (up 21% over 2001 figures), age (up 14.5%), and […]

Employment Law Tip: Preparing for a Wage-Hour Investigation

Wage and hour investigations are often the result of a complaint filed by an employee or former employee. But sometimes the U.S. Department of Labor, or a state agency, targets specific industries for audits. During an investigation, the DOL will visit the business and gather data on wages, hours, and other employment conditions or practices. […]

Bulletin Item: Supreme Court Explains How An Employee Can Prove Discrimination

The United States Supreme Court recently held that when an employee brings a claim of discrimination, the employee may rely on circumstantial evidence to prove that the employer was motivated in part by illegal factors (such as the worker’s age, sex, religion, etc.). In a future article we will outline what this means for employers […]

News Flash: Bills Sent To Governor On E-Mail Monitoring And Personal Liability For Sexual Harassment Of Co-Workers

Our story on a host of important bill spending in the legislature. As we go to press a couple of them have already been passed and are now on the governor’s desk for approval. They include the legislation requiring employersto notify employees if their e-mail will be monitored (A.B. 1822) and the measure that would […]

News Notes: State Workplace Fatality Rate Continues To Fall

The number of California workers killed on the job in 2000 was the lowest since 1992, when the state first published such data. Preliminary figures from the California Department of Industrial Relations show there were 553 deaths in 2000, down from 644 a decade ago. Over 41% of the total deaths resulted from transportation accidents, […]

News Notes: Consumer Privacy Law Takes Effect

As of July 1, 2003, a new law will require California businesses to disclose security breaches of computerized personal data. You will have to inform a California resident when you have a reasonable belief there’s been unauthorized access to their unencrypted personal information i.e., the person’s first name or initial and last name, in combination […]

News Notes: Supreme Court Update

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that wage and hour cases filed in state court under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act can be moved to federal court at an employer’s request. Employers might prefer to have a case heard in federal court for a number of reasons, including the higher standard applied to jury verdicts. […]