Love Contracts in the Workplace

How Employers Can Regulate Office Romance

In just about every supermarket tabloid on the shelves, there’s at least one splashy article about actors or actresses falling in love on a movie set.  In a 2009 survey by CareerBuilder.com on relationships at work, 37% of U.S. employees surveyed stated they had [...]

Sexually Harassed Victim Unable to Sue Individual Supervisors for Retaliation/Wrongful Termination
A recent California federal court ruling confirmed that company supervisors are not individually liable for retaliatory acts.  Sarmas v. County of Stanislaus, et al. October 26, 2009 Westlaw 3489425 (Eastern District California).
According to Stanislaus County’s Sheriff’s Department (Department) employee Valine Sarmas, Sheriff Christianson’s sergeant [...]

Blurring the Distinction between Discriminatory Conduct and Harassment – California Supremes Decide Roby v. McKesson Corp.

As a result of a November 30, 2009 decision, the California Supreme Court (the Court) has now paved the way for employees to more easily establish harassment claims against individual supervisors.
Toward the end of her 25-year customer service career [...]

HERBALIFE’S AFTERLIFE BATTLE:  CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS SEVERE OR PERVASIVE REQUIREMENT FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS
The California Supreme Court, for the second time in the past four years, has affirmed that sexually harassing conduct must be either “severe” or “pervasive” to be actionable sexual harassment.  The decision stems from a high profile suit by Suzan [...]

Religion in the Workplace, Have Faith in the Law
Bill, a hospital supervisor, learned that one of his subordinates, Harvinder, has been wearing a miniature sword strapped to and hidden underneath her clothing. Harvinder is a baptized Sikh who wears the 4-inch dull and sheathed sword (called a kirpan) as a symbol of her [...]

Analysis of reverse discrimination as a variant of wrongful religious discrimination.

Can an employee walk off the job and then sue his/her employer for wrongful termination? The issue is whether that resignation may be treated under California law as a “constructive discharge.”