Category: Employment Law

New Methods to Detect Employment Discrimination

Aug 10

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law, Labor law, national origin discrimination No Comments

Can erring employers escape prosecution for their discriminatory policies? Not anymore.

The announcement by the US Department of Labor on its plan to develop a new data that will be used to analyzed information regarding salaries, wages and other benefits received by employees of federal contractors and subcontractors is welcome news to everyone.

The agency said the new tool will help them gather data to detect discrepancies which are often indicators of discrimination such as disparity in pay faced by female and minority workers.

New Improved Measures for Whistleblowers to be Implemented

Aug 01

Los Angeles LawyerEmployment Law, Labor law, whistleblower law No Comments

The announcement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about the implementation of additional measures on Whistleblower Protection Program is welcome news for workers around the country.

According to a press statement released on its website, the additional measures were created to further protect the rights of workers to speak out their legal rights without fear of retaliation.

Identifying Signs of Sexual Harassment: 6 Facts

Jul 26

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law, Labor law, Sexual Harrassment No Comments

When does an act or gesture become an act of harassment? What constitutes sexual harassment?

Among the countless cases of sexual harassment cases in the workplace, one was recently brought by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against a Michigan-based employer and Burger King Franchise owner for sexual harassment and retaliation.

According to the federal lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, TSW Management, Inc. had violated Title VII when it subjected a group of female employees, including minors, to sexual harassment and retaliation.

Billion-Dollar Discrimination Suit against Wal-Mart Comes to a Halt

Jun 24

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law, Labor law 2 Comments

The Supreme Court ruled out the class action lawsuit filed by over 1.5 million former employees of Wal-Mart in the biggest discrimination suit of the decade.

The sex discrimination suit, which potentially amounts to billions of dollars in damages, was filed by female employees who worked in Wal-Mart’s 3,400 stores across the United States from 1998. Plaintiffs complained that the company has been discriminating against female workers.

EMPLOYMENT LAW: The Effect of Arizona Law on Discrimination Issues

May 31

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law, Wrongful Termination california employment law attorney, discrimination in the workplace No Comments

The US Supreme Court has recently voted 5-3 (Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting) which upheld an Arizona law that penalizes employers who “unknowingly” hires unauthorized foreign workers.

According to the High Court, the federal immigration law “does not pre-empt the Arizona statute”, specifically the Legal Arizona Workers Act which says that “the state can revoke the licenses of businesses that intentionally hire illegal aliens”. In addition to this, the Court also upheld the provision requiring companies to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of job applicants.

EMPLOYMENT LAW: The Effect of Arizona Law on Discrimination Issues

May 31

Los Angeles LawyerDiscrimination, Employment Law California Employment Law Attorneys, discrimination in the workplace, Employment Law No Comments

The US Supreme Court has recently voted 5-3 (Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting) which upheld an Arizona law that penalizes employers who “unknowingly” hires unauthorized foreign workers.

According to the High Court, the federal immigration law “does not pre-empt the Arizona statute”, specifically the Legal Arizona Workers Act which says that “the state can revoke the licenses of businesses that intentionally hire illegal aliens”. In addition to this, the Court also upheld the provision requiring companies to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of job applicants.

How will this affect workers and employees?

According to workers’ rights groups, the Arizona law encourages ethnic stereotyping and discrimination in the workplace, which will result in rejection for a job applicant so that an employer can avoid state sanctions or out of fear that he may be hiring an illegal worker. Or will this result into further stereotyping of workers who are suspected to be working illegally?

Employer-Employee Actions Not Required by Law

May 24

Los Angeles LawyerEmployment Law, Labor law, Sexual Harrassment, national origin discrimination discrimination and harassment issues, empoyer-employee relationship, Labor law No Comments

Issues in the employer-employee relationship can sometimes lead to disputes and lawsuits. Workplace disputes however may arise out of different factors that may involve the following issues:

• Workplace safety issues
• Wage and hour issues
• Meal and rest break issues
• Discrimination and harassment issues
• Other labor related issues

However, in a report based on an article by Ellen Savage, labor law adviser to the California Chamber of Commerce, surprisingly, it mentioned that some employer-employee actions “are not required by law” – meaning some employment practices are not really required by law.