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Employment Law Blog
New Proposed California Employment Law Would Require Employers to Provide its Employees with Bereavement Leave
Posted by Anthony Ruggieri on Tuesday, September 27th, 2011AB 325, a bill presented by Bonnie Lowenthal, is being considered by the California legislature and would require employers to provide up to 3 days of unpaid bereavement leave to employees upon the death of specified family members.
This proposed California employment law states that it would be an “unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to three days of bereavement leave upon the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner.”
In order to be eligible for the leave, an employee must have been employed with his or her employer for at least 60 days prior to the death of the...
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The Bad Reference: What Can Your Former Employer Say?
Posted by John Goffar on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011You’re fired! We have all heard Donald Trump utter this phrase on The Apprentice. But what happens when you have been fired?
What if it was for an untrue or unjustified reason? Or worse, what if you actually did something illegal or in violation of company policy that justified your termination?
Once you have recovered from the initial shock of your termination, it is time to get back out there and begin searching for a job. But with the black mark of a termination now on their record and the possibility of a bad reference, many employees are paralyzed with fear about what their prior employers are allowed to say to future employers. So what can...
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Employment Law Update: Evidence of Discriminatory Intent
Posted by Anthony Ruggieri on Monday, August 29th, 2011In a decision handed down on August 9, 2011, the Fifth Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal held that evidence regarding alleged inappropriate gender-related behavior directed toward female co-workers of the plaintiff (which occurred outside the plaintiff's presence, and of which the plaintiff was unaware) was admissible in support of plaintiff’s claims that she was sexually harassed and wrongfully terminated because of her gender.
In Pantoja v. Anton, the plaintiff filed a Superior Court Complaint against her former employer for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Pantoja alleged she was subjected to a hostile work environment and then wrongfully terminated because of her gender. At trial, the judge granted defendant's motion to exclude evidence of alleged...
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Negotiating The Terms Of An Employee Separation Or Severance Agreement
Posted by Marc Kroop on Monday, July 25th, 2011When an employer terminates an employee from his/her employment, the employer in many cases will offer the employee a separation or severance agreement that provides continuing pay and/or benefits for several weeks or even several months.
Unless such separation or severance pay was offered as a hiring or retention incentive (i.e., contractually guaranteed) or pursuant to the closing of operations for certain large employers, separation or severance pay is not legally required.
Employers often offer small amounts of separation or severance pay to avoid the prospect of protracted and expensive litigation with former employees. In exchange for the severance benefits, the employer receives the employee's written agreement not to sue the employer at any time in the future...
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