626-795-6001

626-795-6001

Category: Employment Litigation

  • Don’t ask, don’t tell informs California law re prior salary history

    How would you feel upon discovering that, while you are at least as qualified as a co-worker doing the same work as you, that employee makes a materially higher wage than you do? We thought so. Many workers across the country understandably lack specific data on the salary histories and specifics relevant to their fellow…

  • Would-be California law focuses on medical pot and the workplace

    California State Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) certainly seems like a middle-of-the-road guy seeking to strike a conciliatory balance in workplace legislation he is proposing. Bonta is pushing a would-be law that would extend stated protections to California workers who legally consumer marijuana for health reasons. If enacted, Assembly Bill 2069 would impose a “reasonable accommodation” onus on…

  • Domestic violence is pernicious, even in the workplace

    Company principals in all California industries are daily focused on multiple opportunities and challenges across every conceivable work-related sphere. Here’s an elevated concern: workplace-linked domestic violence. That subject matter is virtually guaranteed to make any business owner or manager wince. Employee violence — both its commission and its sad effects visited upon a victim —…

  • Employee references a material concern for California businesses

    A hiring manager from another California company wants to know about a worker your enterprise let go several weeks ago. Can you candidly respond that the employee was lazy, ethically suspect and not likely to be a good hire? What if you like that individual, but know that he or she was accused several times…

  • Clear attorney general unanimity on this employment law issue

    As a full-service Southern California employment law firm, Larson & Gaston advocates diligently on behalf of diverse clients in work matters that span virtually every concern and consideration. Our attorneys represent both employees and businesses in employment matters ranging from wage-related and hiring/termination issues to discrimination claims and more. Moreover, we do so via negotiation, mediation, courtroom…

  • Court clear on sexual orientation protection in the workplace

    The U.S. Department of Justice says no. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says yes. And now a second federal appeals court has lined up beside the latter. The subject matter at hand can best be posed as a question, namely this: Does the seminal Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act include sexual orientation…

  • Google faces another lawsuit for harassment and retaliation

    Google, the world-renowned technology giant, has had several legal problems lately. Known for its unique work environment, the company has still allegedly failed to maintain successful employment practices. Observers may recall that Google faced backlash last summer when a controversial memo leaked to the public. Now, a female engineer has filed suit against Google for sexual harassment,…

  • No surprise that litigation centrally marks employment law realm

    We hope that there are several instructive takeaways concerning employment law on our website at the Southern California business law firm of Larson & Gaston. We suspect that one thing central to the realm that likely jumps out from our narrative is employment law’s sheer complexity. The on-the-job interaction between employers and workers encompasses wide-ranging matters.…

  • Clarifying ADA policy, language sought from Supreme Court

    The Americans with Disabilities Act provides that employees with disabling medical conditions can take leave for multi-month periods, even for a year or longer. But wait a minute. Perhaps that’s wrong. As noted in a recent overview of the ADA and its parameters, some analysts say that the federal legislation allows instead for only “brief periods…

  • What will prominently feature this year on the labor landscape?

    Give and take. If there is a mantra to closely define employment law developments in California and across the country in 2018, that short push-and-pull depiction might serve just fine. It seeks to impart the notion that both employers and employees will make gains and suffer a few setbacks. And what commentators in a recent…

  • Can a person be fired because of a disability?

    Employment discrimination is against the law in various circumstances, which is something for both employees and employers to know. For instance, employers aren’t allowed to turn down a potential employee just because he or she has a disability. As long as an individual is capable of performing the job, he or she should receive a…

  • Caution urged in wake of American Airlines ADA settlement

    American Airlines and its largest regional affiliate, Envoy Air, recently agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the airlines of denying accommodations to disabled workers. American and Envoy agreed to pay $9.8 million to resolve claims that they didn’t allow disabled workers to return to their jobs or transfer into open positions when they had restrictions…

  • Human resources help protect against sexual harassment

    Sexual harassment is having a moment in the news right now – and it’s not a good one. While the victims are getting a chance to share their stories without shame, it shows a much larger issue within the workplace in the entertainment industry. This problem doesn’t start and stop with the film and TV…

  • Investors to Starbucks: Is your parental leave policy fair?

    In what has been called potentially “the first shareholder proposal calling for a company to rethink its policy on paid family leave,” Starbucks is being pressured to publicly address a glaring gap that exists regarding a key employee benefit. Namely, that is time off for a worker following the birth of a child. Starbucks’ family leave…

  • Background checks: a complex legal landscape for employers

    For California employers and prospective hirees, this cuts both ways. On the one hand, a hiring manager might reasonably be deemed to have a legitimate concern when a background check reveals a criminal record for a job applicant. And on the other hand, that applicant unquestionably has valid concerns when he or she checks off…

  • Focus on emotional distress damages in FLSA cases

    In the workplace, and as regards the interaction between employers and employees, the relationship is symbiotic. That is, each side needs the other and engages in a balancing act of give and take. Labor exchanged for wages. Time for food. It’s an interesting phenomenon, isn’t it? And while it is certainly true that both sides…

  • More discrimination-charged drama in Silicon Valley

    A recent Bloomberg article terms it an “imbroglio.” Other depictions might be apt, too, of course, including this one: public relations disaster. It hasn’t been the sweetest August thus far for tech giant Google, which, rather than currently being in the news for mainstream articles on business performance and related information is instead embroiled in…

  • Yes or no? Are LGBT workers protected by federal law or not?

    he debate rages on. Title VII of the seminal Civil Rights Act passed by Congress in 1964 extended workplace protections against discrimination on myriad grounds. Notably, protection for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was not included in the list of safeguarded categories, and that continues to be the case today. A recent article…

  • Employer to pay $100,000 for rescinding job offer for new hire

    Entrepreneurs looking for quality workers may struggle to find the right person for the position. Multiple rounds of interviews and checking with a number of previous employers to help confirm a hopeful candidate is the right addition for your team is common practice. In some cases, an offer letter may go out and new information…

  • Private Attorney General Act and Arbitration

    The Private Attorney General Act, or PAGA, allows an aggrieved employee to act as if they are the state in an attempt to make claims for recovery of civil penalties for Labor Code violations. Claims under this Act essentially substitute the plaintiff for a state labor law enforcement agency and give the plaintiff similar rights…