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Get Ready for the new 2017 California Employment Laws! Governor Brown has just signed several important measures that bring new changes to California’s employment laws, most of which will take effect on January 1, 2017. Here are some of the highlights: 1) Increased Paid Family Leave and State Disability Benefits: Effective January 1, 2018, state…

6 Sick Days For Employees In Los Angeles City Starting 7/1/2016 Starting July 1, 2016, most employees within Los Angeles city will be entitled to accrue six sick days (48 hours) of paid sick leave per year. California state law already provides that employer must provide three days (24 hours) of paid sick leave per…

2016 is the Year of Two Minimum Wage Hikes in L.A. The first minimum wage hike that already hit Los Angeles was on January 1, 2016. The second will hit when Los Angeles’ own minimum wage law goes into effect July 1, 2016, pushing pay within city boundaries to $10.50, the first of a series…

$16.3 Million Age Discrimination Award Against Staples Upheld by Court of Appeal On May 26, 2016, the Second District of the CA Court of Appeal upheld a $16.3 million judgment—comprised of $3.2 million in compensatory damages and slightly more than $13 million in punitive damages—in favor of a man found to have been fired because…

The Court of Appeal in a recent age discrimination case entitled, Davis v. Farmers Insurance Exchange (Cal.App. 3/28/16), affirmed a trial court’s jury instruction that the Plaintiff must prove his age was a substantial motivating reason for his termination; that the employer could use the same decision or mixed motive defense; and that a same…

STEM Extensions Increased From 17 Months To 24 Months! Effective May 10, 2016, the STEM Extension OPT program has been expanded to extend the length of the STEM Extension from 17 months to 24 months. STEM OPT Extensions are available to students who completed a degree in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields at…

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has issued an “FAQ for Employers” on transgender rights in the workplace. Among other things, the FAQ provides: Employers should not ask questions designed to detect a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or questions about an employee’s plans to have surgery. If an employer has…

If you ever wanted to get back at your employer by reporting it to the Labor Department for their illegal employment practices, there is something better you can do and get paid for doing it! California adopted a novel approach to enforcing the Labor Code of California when it enacted the Private Attorney General Act…

In a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal opinion, the Court in Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association v. Perez (9th Cir. 2/23/16) revisited tip pooling under the Federal Labor Standards Act. The Court explained, Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”), as amended in 1974, an employer may fulfill part of its hourly…

The Court of Appeal in USS-POSCO Industries v. Case (Cal.App. 1/26/16) recently held that an employer may require an employee to repay education expenses. In this case, the Defendant employee voluntarily enrolled in a three-year, employer-sponsored educational program. He agreed in writing that if he quit his job within 30 months of completing the program,…