Category Archives: Newsletter Archives

By: Jordan R. Turner, Associate | Brown Law Group Practice Tips Expand sexual harassment training to non-supervisory, temporary, and seasonal employees; Consider implementing bystander training provisions; and Attend Brown Law Group’s Annual Employment Law Update on January 24, 2019, for more information on the state of workplace harassment law. As we embark on 2019, companies […]

By: Jordan R. Turner, Associate | Brown Law Group Practice Tips Update employee handbook with new FEHA provisions for sexual harassment; Expand sexual harassment training to non-supervisory, temporary, and seasonal employees; and Read this article for information on how to adjust contractual language and settlement agreements to reflect California’s new policies. It is difficult to […]

Practice Tips for Work Authorization Compliance: Conduct an annual self-audit of your current and terminated employees’ Form I-9s; Consult with counsel regarding best practices for conducting a Form I-9 self-audit; and Be aware of laws protecting employees from discrimination, retaliation and invasion of privacy in connection with internal and government audits.   On January 10, […]

The California Supreme Court has just “upped the ante” in the discovery phase of PAGA litigation. In Williams v. Superior Court, the court by unanimous decision, held that PAGA plaintiffs have the same broad discovery rights to obtain the names and contact information of other California employees that they would have if the case was filed as a class action. The court also ruled that plaintiffs are permitted to seek the contact information for their fellow “aggrieved employees” at the outset of their lawsuit, without a showing of good cause for the potentially private information. The court remarked that “nothing in the characteristics of a PAGA suit . . . affords a basis for restricting discovery more narrowly” than in non-PAGA class actions.

The old saying goes, “there are two things that you can’t avoid – death and taxes.”  Despite that sage advice, many employers, well intentioned though they may be, have attempted to save money by classifying employees as independent contractors, to avoid paying taxes. However, just because a company hires a worker as an independent contractor […]

When is the last time you looked through your kitchen cabinets and cleaned out expired cans of food?  If you are like me, it was a few years ago.  My wife and I recently tackled this chore and it was quite an educational moment.  For starters, I was shocked to learn just how many cans […]

Employers large and small are familiar with the concept of employee handbooks as standard communication devices in many American workplaces.  Handbooks typically describe the company and its business, set standards of conduct, and establish or diminish employee expectations regarding the employment relationship. Recently, the National Labor Relations Board has sparked intense conversation regarding the legality […]

During the past sixty years the percentage of unionized workers in the private sector has plummeted from a high of 33% in 1952 to a percentage today of less than 7%.  While a number of factors such as globalization, changing social standards, expanded use of subcontractors, and precarious economic circumstances have contributed to the decline; […]