News

Understanding At-Will Employment in California

At-Will is a Lazy Excuse for Terminating an Employee Many managers mistakenly believe that “at-will” can be a carte blanche to get rid of a troublesome or unpopular employee. California law stipulates that employees are employed at will. This entails that either the employer or the employee may terminate employment at any time, with or […]

California Employers Obligation to Prevent Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

It’s been all over the news lately—dozens of stories, accusations and apologies surrounding harassing and inappropriate behavior in the workplace. We work in California, but not even our state legislature, who has passed more anti-harassment laws than any other state, is immune to the onslaught. So how do employers protect themselves? First, all California employers […]

It’s Official – Asking for Prior Pay History in CA is Now Illegal

California Governor Signs AB168 We’ve written about it previously and now it’s law. Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 168 into law. Now California joins Delaware, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia San Francisco in “prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for “salary history information.” This term includes both compensation and benefits. Section 432.3 […]

New California Parental Leave Act Affects Small Employers

New Parental Leave Act – Effective January 1, 2018 Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law the New Parent Leave Act. The bill will require that California small businesses (20 to 49 employees) offer workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected family leave to bond with a new baby or child. The eligibility for […]

California Rules – Time off for School Appearance or School Activity

We often get questions regarding providing time off for employees to go to their children’s school. There are two laws in California relating to time off for school-related issues: School Activities leave applies only to employers with 25 or more employees. School Appearance leave applies to all employers, regardless of size. The School Activities leave […]