Category Archives: Workers’ Rights
4 Major Updates to the California Fair Employment & Housing Act: What California Workers Need to Know
As of April 1, 2016, new amendments to the California Fair Employment & Housing Act (FEHA) took effect, enhancing some protections for employees while instituting some new requirements for employers. The following provides an overview of these new FEHA amendments. New FEHA Amendments The latest updates to the FEHA & their impacts The latest… Read More »
Employers Can Be Required to Make Reasonable Accommodations for Non-Disabled Employees, California Court Rules
Non-disabled employees in California who are associated with a disabled person can be entitled to reasonable accommodations from their employers, a California court recently ruled. Overturning the decision of a lower court, this ruling issued by California Court of Appeals, Second District, effectively clarifies employers’ duties to provide reasonable accommodations under the California Fair… Read More »
Workplace Age Discrimination Targets Workers as Young as 45, Study Reveals
A study several years ago showed that 30 percent of people over age 53 face some kind of discrimination due to their age. Newer studies now show that age discrimination even affects employees 45 and older. According to the new study, people 45 or older who are out of a job will now remain… Read More »
Prison Guard Pay Eclipses Cal State University Faculty
Over the last several months, California State University (“CSU”) faculty members have been appealing to CSU trustees to approve reasonable and common sense pay increases of 5%. Such pay increases would impact roughly 26,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, guidance counselors and staff. CSU trustees refuse to budge, currently offering no more than 2%. At the… Read More »
The California Fair Pay Act Clarifies & Strengthens Equal Pay Laws, Is Now in Effect in California
While California’s equal pay law is one of the toughest in the nation, it was recently made stronger by changes that took effect on Jan. 1, 2016. That is because these changes now require California employers to pay women and men equally for “substantially similar work,” regardless of their specific job titles. Prior to… Read More »
2016 Sees Increase in the California Minimum Wage
Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the minimum wage in California increased about 11 percent, rising from $9/hour to $10/hour. This hike has increased the California minimum wage to $2.75 more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not been increased in more than six years. Commenting on the importance of this minimum wage… Read More »
Immigrant Workers Gain More Protections with California Laws Aimed at Curbing Employer Threats of Deportation
Governor Jerry Brown previously signed a bill that prohibits California employers from using workers’ immigration status against them in an effort to cheat them out of pay they have earned and/or to otherwise compromise their rights. Providing immigrant workers with new protections, this law specifically made it illegal for California employers to report –… Read More »
Important Info about New Amendments to the California Sick Leave Pay Law
As of July 1, 2015, the California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (CHWHFA or Act) has been effect in the state. Among other things, this Act requires employers to provide employees with three paid sick days annually, with few exceptions applying. Two weeks after the CHWHFA went into effect, however, Governor Jerry… Read More »
Groundbreaking EEOC Ruling Protects LGBT Workers from Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers have recently been granted new protections at work as a result of a ruling handed down by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on July 16, 2015. The ruling specifically stated that “sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination because it necessarily entails treating an employee less favorably… Read More »
DOL Issues New Guidelines for Employers Regarding Worker Classification
Earlier this month, officials at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new guidelines to help clarify how employers should classify employees versus independent contractors. This issue of misclassifying workers has become increasingly prominent in recent years, as numerous companies have come under fire for misclassifying workers and, in doing so, compromising their rights…. Read More »