California Employment Law Report

Recent Posts from California Employment Law Report

• Arbitration Agreement Upheld Despite Employee's Argument It Was Not Mutual And Adhesive

  In Roman v. Superior Court, the Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration agreement where the employee challenged the agreement by arguing that the agreement was unenforceable because it only obligated the employee to arbitrate his…

• HR professionals note to employment lawyers: stop working off of fear

  The HR blog Fistfull of Talent raises a concern I think a lot of HR professionals feel. See article “Hey Employment Law ‘Experts’, You’re Killing My Profession.” Kris Dunn expresses the all too common sentiment…

• 10 common California employment law mistakes by start-up companies

  Start-up companies are usually saving every penny and operating on small margins. Simply the cost of defending an employment lawsuit could bring the entire venture into jeopardy. Here is a list of ten common California…

• CA Supreme Court denies review in Starbucks tip pooling case

  The California Supreme Court denied review of a lower appellate court decision in the class action of Chau v. Starbucks. The issue in the case is whether store managers, who as part of their duties…

• Spokeo.com makes on-line social networking searches for job applicants easier and faster

  Human resource professionals and hiring managers have developed a better way to gain insight into new hire’s backgrounds: information posted in social networking sites. About two years ago, I was often asked whether it was…

• Top ten mistakes employers make when drafting job descriptions

    Not drafting job descriptions because the employer believes that they are either useless or are not needed in small to medium sized companies.  Not listing the essential functions of the job (i.e., the primary…

• California Supreme Court holds employees' privacy rights not invaded by video surveillance

  Plaintiffs Hernandez and Lopez were employed by Hillsides Children Center, Inc., which provided services to children with special needs and who were abused. Hillsides discovered that someone was accessing pornographic websites on a computer located…

• Federal minimum wage increases, but does not affect California employers

  The Federal minimum wage increased to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009. However, because California’s minimum wage is $8.00 per hour, the increase in the Federal minimum wage does not affect California employers, as…

• When Do Employers Have To Pay For On-call Time?

  The line between when employees are on or off the clock have become more and more grey with the advent of Blackberries, iPhones, and providing employees with remote login access from their homes. On-call time…

• City Dress Code Requires Employees To Wear Underwear

  A Florida city revised its dress code last week to require that employees wear underwear to work. The dress code also prohibits provocative clothing, halter tops and piercings other than in the employees’ ears. I…