For many employees, requesting workplace disability accommodations from an employer is incredibly difficult. They fear being viewed as a trouble-maker. Still, if you have disabilities, doing so is your right and could even make you a more productive employee, to...
Year: 2024
Proactive approaches to employer accommodation obligations
Employers are responsible for providing reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities. By taking proactive steps to meet accommodation obligations, businesses may strongly position themselves to not only comply with legal requirements such as the Americans...
What is “quid pro quo” sexual harassment?
“Quid pro quo” sexual harassment involves situations wherein one’s employment, opportunities or benefits are explicitly or implicitly conditioned upon the acceptance of unwanted sexual advances or demands by an employer, manager, supervisor or someone else. In simple...
Reproductive loss leave and California employer responsibilities
As a California employer, it can be a challenge to keep up with the ever-changing state laws related to wages, contracts, discrimination, harassment and leaves. For example, one new law that took effect at the beginning of this year requires employers to give...
3 ways worker misclassification can impact employees
Sometimes, workers are so eager for new opportunities that they accept terms that may prove unfavorable to them in the long run. For example, a worker might sign documents and fill out tax paperwork that identifies them as an independent contractor. However, they...
What are the rights of breastfeeding workers in California?
In California, the rights of breastfeeding workers are protected and supported through specific state and federal laws designed to create a conducive environment for lactating mothers to express milk or breastfeed in the workplace. California laws protect...
How to respond to sexual innuendo and “jokes” at work
How do you handle it when your client, co-worker or boss makes some loaded comment that references your looks, your body or your sex life? This is a common issue faced by working women all the time. Roughly one-fifth of men polled by the New York Times admitted that...
What is California’s Assembly Bill 2188?
According to two new laws, employers in California are now prohibited from inquiring about their workers’ cannabis use outside the workplace or discriminating against them because of it. Moreover, employers can no longer ask their workers to take urine or hair tests...
What is California’s CROWN Act?
California's Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act is a significant step in combating racial discrimination in the workplace. Enacted in 2019, it extends the definition of racial discrimination to include hair texture and hairstyles. The...
How much unpaid FMLA leave can a worker take?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that grants certain employees the right to take unpaid leave from their jobs. People who have worked for a company for at least a year and who experience certain qualifying personal circumstances can ask to take...