Google Offers Caselaw…for FREE
on Nov 17, 2009 in News free caselaw google scholar Today Google announced the launch of a free federal and state caselaw database that is lightning fast and extremely powerful. It can be found at the “legal opinions and journals” section of Google Scholar. This is big news. Lawyers aroun...

Free Pamphlets on Labor and Employment Laws
on Oct 9, 2009 in Law Tips for Employees cfra CFRA, FMLA, Medical Leave disability discrimination discrimination fmla harassment privacy The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) publishes numerous free pamphlets on California labor and employment laws. These pamphlets provide a brief but helpful and easy-to-understand explanation of employee rights under Califor...

Free Video Tutorials on Employment & Labor Laws
on Oct 4, 2009 in Law Tips for Employees discrimination harassment privacy reasonable accommodation Interested in a quick overview of California labor and employment laws? Break out the popcorn and turn up your speakers. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has released several short videos, 90 seconds to 3 minutes in length eac...

District Spends $532k on Lawsuit that Settles for $150k
on Oct 1, 2009 in Verdicts & Settlements CPRA settlement Wrongful termination What’s wrong with this picture? A school district spends $532,123 in legal fees and costs to fight a wrongful termination lawsuit; after more than 2 years of litigation, it ends up settling the case for $150,000. According to an article in the...

An Ode to Whistleblowers and the Law: Part II
on Sep 27, 2009 in Retaliation-FEHA, CFRA, FMLA, Whistleblower retaliation whistleblowing Have you blown the whistle on illegal conduct at your workplace? If so, there are state and federal laws that could protect you from retaliation by your employer. For instance, the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 prohibits retaliation against empl...

We’ve Been Named a Top 100 Legal Blog!
on Sep 4, 2009 in Announcements law blog Great news! The Daily Reviewer has just selected “California Labor & Employment Law” as one of its Top 100 Legal Blogs. We’re very excited by the recognition. A big thank you to the hard-working editors at the Daily Reviewer. Ke...

Employers Are Now Screening Employee Facebook and MySpace Pages
on Aug 20, 2009 in News Tips for Employees facebook linkedin myspace social networking sites twitter Do you have a personal account with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or any of the other social media websites that have become so popular lately? Chances are you do. Or you will soon. The growth of social media sites has been nothing short of breathtaking...

Bad Times, Worse Managers
on Aug 18, 2009 in Editorial iqbal recession As the world grapples with recession, here’s a look at how company managers have (mis)behaved during a time of high unemployment and off-the-charts human suffering. Job-Seeker Mistreatment. With the tables turned, employers have enjoyed having...

Economic Recovery Around the Bend?
on Aug 16, 2009 in News recession unemployment The signs of recovery (or at least a bottoming out) are there. The US economy shrank just 1% between April and July of 2009, after shrinking at a torrid 6.4% pace in the first quarter. (New York Times). The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 9,300, u...

Tip-Pooling – Can My Employer Take My Tips and How?
on Jul 31, 2009 in Tips / Tip-pool Tips for Employees tip-pooling Some History For better or worse, tipping has become an accepted part of American commerce. It is a practice that first emerged in the late 1800s. In 1917, the California legislature passed a law for the first time prohibiting employers from taking a...