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In what is being hailed as one of the largest public entity individual employment settlements ever in California, the City of Emeryville (near Oakland) has agreed to pay $2.3 million, plus $1.3 million in attorney’s fees, to a city employee who claimed racial discrimination and retaliation.
On March 15, U.S. Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act, legislation that would guarantee seven paid sick days per year to employees working at least 30 hours a week at companies with 15 or more workers. Under the bill, the sick days could be used for the […]
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) is warning employers about recent incidents in which a man has allegedly impersonated a Cal/OSHA inspector and defrauded restaurant owners. The incidents have occurred in Southern California and in Roseville (near Sacramento).
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows employees, both union and non-union, to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid or protection.” This includes an employee’s right to have a union representative present at an investigatory meeting that the employee reasonably believes could result in discipline.
Last year, a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $2 million to former Oakland police officer Janeith Glenn-Davis, who claimed she was passed over for promotion because she was pregnant. The damages included $150,000 in lost earnings plus $1.85 million for emotional distress and other damages.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed an employment discrimination class action against Walgreen Co., alleging that the drug store chain discriminates against African American workers in its stores nationwide. Walgreens operates over 5,500 stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico, so the lawsuit affects thousands of current and former employees.
We reported last week that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was considering an ordinance that would give employers an additional transition period before San Francisco’s controversial paid sick leave law, Chapter 12W, takes full effect. The paid sick leave law was approved by voters and took effect on Feb. 5, 2007.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill — the Employee Free Choice Act — that would make it easier for employees to form unions. The measure was approved by a vote of 241-185.