Recent Blog Posts
California’s Workplace Violence Prevention Law and What It Means for Employees
Do you know what your employer is required to do to protect you from violence on the job? As of July 1, 2024, most California employers must follow a new law designed to reduce the risk of violence in the workplace. If you work in California, understanding this law can help you recognize whether… Read More »
Religious Accommodation Requests at Work: Your Rights Under California Law
Have you ever felt caught between your faith and your job? Maybe you need a specific day off for a holy observance, or you wear religious clothing that a supervisor has questioned. Many California workers face these situations without knowing what protections exist. Understanding your rights can make these conversations with an employer far… Read More »
Pregnancy Discrimination at Work in California: What Employees Need to Know
Finding out you are pregnant should be exciting news, not a source of workplace anxiety. Yet many California employees quietly wonder how their employer will react once they share the news. Will their hours get cut? Will they be passed over for a promotion? Will they still have a job waiting for them after… Read More »
Are You Being Shortchanged on Your Meal and Rest Breaks?
If you clock eight hours a day at a job in San Jose, do you know exactly when you’re supposed to get a break, and what happens if you don’t? Many California workers assume that a missed lunch or a skipped ten minute breather is just part of a busy day. In reality, California… Read More »
When Does Workplace Bullying Cross the Line Into Illegal Conduct in California?
Have you ever wondered whether the tension you feel walking into a meeting each day is simply an unpleasant work culture, or something the law actually addresses? Many employees endure belittling comments, exclusion from projects, or a supervisor who seems to single them out, without ever asking whether that treatment could be unlawful. Our… Read More »
Constructive Termination: Did You Quit or Were You Fired?
Most California employers know that they cannot fire you on the basis of race or religion or pregnancy or age, nor can they fire you in order to “get back at you” (retaliate against you) for doing something that you had a right to do. So, many employers who want to get rid of… Read More »
Getting Emotional Damages in Discrimination and Harassment Cases
When something bad happens to you at work–say, you are fired, or demoted, or deprived of benefits, or not selected to work on a great project–and you sense that this is because of illegal harassment or discrimination, there can be two types of damages that a worker can recover. One type of damage is… Read More »
Are Allergies a Protected Disability at Work?
It often happens–a sneeze, or a cough, but you’re not sick: you have allergies. For some of us our allergies are sporadic, seasonal or come and go. But for others, allergies can be very serious, and ongoing. If you need accommodations at work can you get them for serious allergies? Defining and Protecting Disabilities… Read More »
Less Obvious and Overlooked Adverse Employment Actions
In any employment discrimination case, there are really two questions: was there some form of harassment or discrimination or retaliation, and if so, what was the consequence–meaning, what “bad thing” happened to the employee, that indicated that he or he was punished in some way, because of his or her actions race, gender, religion,… Read More »
Are Stock, or Stock Options, Considered the Same as Salary or Wages?
Stock options can be a better, more profitable payment than salary in the long term than simple wages. Many people retire as millionaires, after working at the same company for many years, and accumulating stock options over that time period. But when it comes to wages, and the laws that affect wages, are stock… Read More »
