It is the public policy of the State of California to encourage employees to notify an appropriate government or law enforcement agency, person with authority over the employee, or another employee with authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation or noncompliance, and to provide information to and testify before a public body conducting an…
Continue reading ›In California, members of the military and veterans are protected from discrimination and harassment in employment, housing, and business establishments. It is unlawful for employers, landlords, businesses of all kinds, health care providers and insurers, homeless shelters, and others to discriminate against anyone or harass them because of their military or veteran status. Under California…
Continue reading ›The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), enforced by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), contains provisions guaranteeing leave for employees disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition (Pregnancy Disability Leave or PDL). All employers must provide information about PDL to their employees and post information about pregnancy leave rights…
Continue reading ›What Does “Transgender” Mean? Transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender expression is defined by the law to mean a “person’s gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.” Gender identity and gender…
Continue reading ›The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) enforces laws that protect you from illegal discrimination and harassment in employment based on your actual or perceived: ANCESTRY AGE (40 and above) COLOR DISABILITY (physical, mental, HIV and AIDS) GENETIC INFORMATION GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION MARITAL STATUS MEDICAL CONDITION (genetic characteristics, cancer or a record…
Continue reading ›Employers in California are required to compensate their workers for any expenses incurred while performing their duties. These costs include the cost of supplying a personal automobile or a cell phone for business use. Employers are increasingly demanding employees to work from home, which nearly always necessitates the employee having access to the internet. If…
Continue reading ›U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), available to certain EAD renewal applicants, to up to 540 days. The increase, which will be effective immediately on May 4, 2022, will help avoid gaps in employment for…
Continue reading ›On April 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that individuals who previously received deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may now file Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, online. “The expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we make our operations more efficient and…
Continue reading ›On March 31, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2022. These visas will be set aside for U.S. employers…
Continue reading ›On March 29, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a trio of efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall legal immigration system. USCIS will set new agency-wide backlog reduction goals, expand premium processing to additional form types, and work to improve timely access to employment authorization documents. Due to the COVID-19…
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