Employer Defense

Like many California business owners, one of your most challenging tasks is keeping costs low to maximize your profits. This includes the high cost of labor. In fact, employee wages and benefits might be among the biggest items on your list of operating expenses. ...

The recent pandemic has brought up a  lot of new questions for employers. For over a year, you have been presented with many questions regarding what you can require of employees in the interest of public health. As questions of testing and sick time turned into...

Americans with disabilities face many challenges in life. So, the federal government created the Americans with Disabilities Act to prompt employers and others to provide safe and accessible environments through modifications (which are sometimes called productivity...

In November of last year, California voters approved Proposition 22, also called the App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative. Prop 22 allows companies such as Uber and Lyft to categorize app-based drivers as independent contractors rather than...

You may have heard of age discrimination in the workplace. But what about age discrimination in a job vacancy announcement? There has been a growing trend by employers in recent years to advertise employment vacancies on social media. Facebook ads are one of the most...

Nearly 60 years have gone by since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Though the law was intended to end gender pay disparity, a wage gap persists. The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls says there's a gender wage gap in 97 percent of...

Unfortunately, conducting layoffs is a normal part of many businesses when the economy takes a downturn or when other market changes occur. You might feel the need to lay off one of your employees, but if that employee is pregnant or on maternity leave, you might be...

Every company dreads the idea of being dragged into a sexual harassment lawsuit over the alleged misconduct of an employee. Taking active steps to minimize the chances of this occurring in your company will be worth every dollar. If you are forced to defend a sexual...

Few legal requirements lead to more misunderstandings than those involving reasonable accommodations. After all, what may seem perfectly reasonable to one party may appear entirely unreasonable to someone else. While the issue is somewhat subjective, the law does...

The recent decisive vote on Prop 22 is undoubtedly good news for businesses that use independent contractors. However, the state attorney general, three city attorneys and California's labor secretary filed lawsuits against Uber and Lyft before the voters approved the...