In California, employers must provide up to four months of disability leave for workers who are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or some related medical condition. This time doesn’t have to be taken all at once, nor does it apply solely to full-time workers. A woman need not be totally…
In the case of Cote v. Wal-Mart, Inc., filed within the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges the big box chain store engaged in gender discrimination when it refused to extend spousal benefits to the wife of a female employee. This argument hasn’t yet been vetted in…
One of the most dearly held rights Americans have is stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The right of free speech. It allows us to speak our minds without fear of government infringement. But that’s just the thing: It pertains to government infringement, not infringement by private…
Somewhere between 1 and 3 million workers migrate from various locations across the world – usually Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean – to work as laborers in U.S. farms. Vital as these workers are to the labor force, they are often mistreated, underpaid and sometimes even abused. Employers sometimes…
The Family and Medical Leave Act – also routinely referred to as “FMLA” – entitles most workers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. Workers can take up to 12 months in a given period, and it can be for anything from the birth of a…
With an upcoming presidential election getting closer, all of the candidates are busy making campaign speeches and trying to garner support from likely voters. According to a recent news article from Huffington Post, Hillary Clinton has vowed that she will do whatever she can as president to crack down on…
Retail workers often have a much harder time than most people would imagine. While it might not seem like the hardest to job to stand in a store, manage the shelves and check out customers, there are a lot of challenging aspects when trying to earn a living and take…
Long gone are the days when most employees will be able to work for 20 or 25 years with the same employer or government agency and collect a pension when they finally decide to retire. Even when retirement benefits are offered, they often require employees to contribute to the plans…
According to a recent news story from The Daily Californian, a large group of demonstrators were singing in protest at California Hall to protest University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and its decision to use contract-based workers instead of full-time employees on the campus. This group of demonstrators said…
Undocumented workers and their right to enter the country, remain in the country, and work here have become a major topic for the candidates for the Republican nomination for the upcoming presidential election. By now, everyone has heard Donald Trump’s feelings on the Mexican immigrants who enter this country each…