California Employment Law Blog

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit employers from discriminating against anyone because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. While limited exceptions exist – for religious institutions and companies with fewer than five employees – the vast majority of workers and job…

The California Court of Appeals, Third District, ruled in July that a former regional president for U.S. Bank in Sacramento is entitled to receive $17 million in compensation after a jury determined he was wrongfully terminated, and that U.S. Bank National Association later defamed his reputation. The jury found that U.S. Bank falsely accused Timothy…

Three years after the #MeToo movement brought workplace sexual harassment into the spotlight, a new study shows a disturbing result – nearly three-quarters of the people reporting harassment say they were retaliated against for complaining. The National Women’s Law Center report says seven out of 10 workers, who reported being sexually harassed at work, faced…

Workers now have one year to file a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit against their employer with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1947 into law on Sept. 30. Before the measure became law, employees had six months after a violation occurred to file a complaint for…

A 34-year employee of the popular game show “Jeopardy!” is suing the show’s producers after being fired in August. Glenn Kagan, 66, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., and Quadra Productions Inc. claiming age discrimination. Company said the plaintiff violated COVID protocols “Jeopardy!” staffers began working remotely in…

State and federal laws protect California workers against employers who expect or require their employees to perform work-related duties without compensation. Working “off the clock” is a common wage and hour violation for any uncompensated work done for an employer that should count for overtime purposes. Typical off-the-clock violations California labor laws as well as…

When employers fail to take job applicants’ or employees’ caregiving obligations into account, they may be guilty of family responsibilities discrimination (FRD). In California, companies cannot consider an employee’s real or perceived caregiving role to deny raises, promotions, reduce their pay or take other adverse actions, such as harassment and discrimination. Caregivers face discrimination in…

Under Proposition 22 on the November ballot, app-based transportation and delivery companies would be exempted from providing employee benefits to thousands of California drivers by classifying them as independent contractors. Ride-sharing and delivery companies, including Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash, paid millions of dollars to put Prop 22 on the ballot. Their lawyers wrote this misleading…

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), tech giant IBM discriminated against thousands of older workers laid off by the company from 2013 to 2018. In late August, the agency notified a group of ex-employees that IBM routinely ignored laws that protect workers from age discrimination in hiring and firing. Discrimination was encouraged…

Public policy in the United States generally favors unimpeded competition. For workers, that translates to a basic freedom to pursue the livelihood of their choice. However, companies frequently try to keep their employees and independent contractors from working for competitors. Noncompete agreements are required by nearly half of all American companies as a condition of…