Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Appellate Court Protects Employer’s Right to Refuse Withdrawal of Employee’s Voluntary Resignation

August 5, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Wrongful termination is a common claim by former employees, and a common source of liability for employers. Yet the specific circumstances in which wrongful termination laws apply can be confusing at best. Recently, the California Court of Appeals decided that an employer neither violated disability discrimination laws, nor otherwise wrongfully terminated an employee who sought to withdraw her voluntary resignation.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Ruth Featherstone was an employee of Southern California Permanente Medical Group when she returned from a medical leave of absence on December 16, 2013. On December 23, Featherstone resigned, telling her supervisor that “God had told her to do something else”. On December 31, Featherstone asked to rescind her resignation, claiming that she had been under the effects of medication at the time it was tendered. The employer declined.

Featherstone’s lawsuit against the medical group centered on California disability law, which protects an employee from any “adverse employment action” as a result of a disability. The Court ruled that Featherstone had the right to rescind her resignation until Permanente employees processed it. Once accepted, however, Permanente was under no obligation to allow her to rescind the resignation. Permanente was also under no continuing duty to accommodate Featherstone’s disability and purportedly altered mental state once it accepted her resignation. Continue Reading ›

Three Things to Know About California Non-Compete Agreements

August 3, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Non-compete agreements (NCAs) are an increasingly popular tool of employers in today’s global and competitive economy. As a general rule, California law does not allow for enforcement of NCAs against an employee after he or she leaves the company. This anti-NCA stance is, in fact, so well known that one technology company (Veeva) has sued its rivals, asking the court to declare that the NCAs they make employees sign violate California law. The Recorder report that the rival companies claim that Veeva is merely after their intellectual property. Regardless of the politics behind the lawsuit, it is almost inevitable that the non-compete agreements will be deemed unenforceable against California employees.

Despite the broad prohibition against NCAs in California, there are other tools available to employers looking to protect intellectual property. There are also several important applications of NCA law which employers are wise to understand. Continue Reading ›

Employees Now Have Better Access to Evidence in Lawsuits Against an Employer

August 1, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Employees are often placed at a disadvantage in workplace litigation due to the superior bargaining power of their employers. Thus, when an employer violates workplace laws, a common strategy for plaintiffs is to gather together a group of employees who have suffered from the same violation in order to file a class action lawsuit. By forming a group, the plaintiffs increase their financial power in litigation, as well as their bargaining power during settlement negotiations.

A new case decided by the California Supreme Court on July 13, 2017 makes it easier for plaintiffs to find other employees who may have been impacted by workplace violations. In a rare unanimous decision, the Court determined that a plaintiff does not need to show that his or her case has merit before gaining access to the employer’s records for employee contact information. Instead, this information must be provided at the onset of litigation, before the court either makes a determination of merit, or certifies a class of plaintiffs (which must occur before class action litigation can proceed).

JD Supra reports that the decision made only two small concessions to employee privacy concerns. First, the Court ratified a rule of case law which allows employers to notify affected employees about the potential release of their information and opt out of having their information released. Second, the Court also endorsed a prohibition against employee contact information being disclosed outside of the confines of a specific lawsuit. Continue Reading ›

Company Culture Causes Sexual Harassment in California

July 28, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Sexual harassment is a problem faced by many employers. But what is less often understood is the role that company culture can play in fostering sexual harassment in the workplace – and protecting its perpetrators. Without understanding the systemic causes of sexual harassment, employers cannot adequately eradicate it within their businesses, nor protect themselves from the liability attendant to sexual harassment claims. Occupations which have been traditionally filled by a male-dominate workforce are particularly susceptible to legal claims of sexual discrimination and harassment.

The Technology Sector Becomes an Example of What Not to Do

Other male-dominated industries can learn from the legal and publicity problems faced by the technology sector. For years, Silicon Valley has been a microcosm of sexual harassment culture. Wired magazine describes the prevalence of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley as being an “open secret.” This open secret is a culture that has lasted for decades, and has not been changed by human resource policies, nor by extensive litigation and judgments against behemoth employers. The culture of male dominance is simply too pervasive to respond to a few settlements that pale in comparison to the massive profits of large tech companies. Continue Reading ›

California Supreme Court Allows Employers Greater Flexibility in Adhering to “Day of Rest” Statute

July 24, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

A recent ruling by the California Supreme Court on May 8, 2017, makes it easier for employers to comply with the state’s “day of rest” statute. The enhanced flexibility can benefit both employers working to accommodate their business needs, and employees who desire more flexibility to accommodate their personal activities with their work schedule and responsibilities.

The California “day or rest” statute prohibits employers from causing employees to work more than six in seven days. The San Francisco Business Times reports that, in Mendoza v. Nordstrom, the Court clarified that the day of rest is guaranteed for each work week, rather than any given period of seven days. Previously, it was unclear which measure had to be used for purposes of calculating the day off. Some employers would go to great lengths to accommodate every seven-day period on a rolling basis. Now, they need only to set a defined work week, and ensure that employees have one day off within that week.

The ruling also gave employers the option of scheduling employees for more than seven days in a row if they are given time off equivalent to one day per work week. This, too, allows greater flexibility in scheduling. It also appears to signal the Court’s awareness of the realities of the contemporary American workforce. Continue Reading ›

How Airbnb Host Violations Affect Employers Through the Department of Fair Employment and Housing

July 21, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Employers might be surprised to learn that the actions of an Airbnb host can affect policy and obligations created by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Nonetheless, that is the outcome of a particularly heated racial case arising out of Big Bear.

The Star reports that, in February 2017, Asian UCLA law student Dyne Suh had rented a cabin in Big Bear. The cabin had been rented from Tami Barker through Airbnb. After driving for hours through rain and snow, Suh received a text message canceling the reservation when she was only minutes away from the cabin. Barker wrote:

“I wouldn’t rent to u if u were the last person on earth”
“One word says it all. Asian.”
“This is why we have Trump”
“I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.”

Suh, an American citizen and law clerk at the Riverdale County Public Defender’s Office, reported the case to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The Department ordered Barker to pay a $5000 fine, issue a personal apology to Suh, take a college level course on Asian American studies, complete community service at a civil rights organization, and report rental data to the Agency for the next four years. Airbnb also permanently banned Barker from their site. Continue Reading ›

California Gives $3 Million in Assistance to Laid-Off Workers

July 18, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

We hear a lot about jobs and job numbers on the news these days, as it has become a major political talking point. Whether or not jobs will come back to Americans is up for debate, and both sides of the aisle have a lot to say about the topic.

However, what we do know is that there are a lot of factories shuttered and a lot of jobs being lost, and for the laid-off workers, this is often devastating. According to a recent news article from 89.3 KPCC, California is providing $3 million to help the 600 workers who were laid-off by American Apparel. Continue Reading ›

Carl’s Jr. Fined $1.45 Million by City of LA for Wage Hour Violations

July 15, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from CNN, the City of Los Angeles has issued a demand for $1.45 million from fast food chain Carl’s Jr. This money is to pay fines and make restitution for employees that were underpaid. The city found that the company did not pay employees minimum wage pursuant to local law for over a six-month period.

At the time of these findings, the minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles was $10.50. Pursuant to legislation already passed, the minimum wage for hourly workers has already gone up to $12 per hour for employers who employ more than 26 people. By the year 2020, there will be a city minimum wage of $15 dollars per hour. Continue Reading ›

Proposed Bill Requires Transgender Rights Training for Employers in California

July 13, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from the San Francisco Gate, new regulations are now in effect that provide specific protections to transgender and gender-nonconforming employees in California. This comes at a time when transgender workers are receiving more support from some and facing more hostility from others than ever before.

One issue that employers are worried about is that even if they want to do the right thing and follow the law, they are not sure exactly what they are required to do. They also say they do not have the resources to fully follow the law and learn what to do. While these claims seem somewhat hard to take seriously, there is clearly a need for more training. Continue Reading ›

Workers Allegedly Fired for Being “Too Gay” in California

July 12, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from Society for Human Resource Management, an employee in California has filed a lawsuit against his former employer claiming he was fired for being “too gay.” He was working in executive management for the company prior to being terminated, according to his complaint.

In his complaint, employee claimed his was openly gay when he was hired in 1997. He worked for the company for 10 years in various management jobs. In 2007, he was given a new job as the manager for diversity and inclusion. This was not only a new job for him, but a newly created position within the company. Continue Reading ›