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WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATORS, EXPANDED Third-Party Service Companies May Be Liable as "Employers"

For companies with five or more on payroll,California's Fair Employment and Housing Act(FEHA) protects workers from employer discrimination based onprotected classificationssuch as race, religion, gender, and disability.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 35 DISABILITY LEAVE POLICY

If a California-based employee requires a temporary leave as a reasonable accommodation in connection with a disability not covered underPDL,CFRA,FMLAorworkers compensationlaws, the employer should grant it to the extent it can do so without causingundue hardshipon the business.

I-9 RULES CHANGE AGAIN Remote Verification Possible for E-Verify Users

Effective July 31, 2023, U.S. Immigrations and Customs (ICE) once again required employers to verify all I-9 document submissions in person, ending the remote verification flexibility permitted during the pandemic. SeeNo More Room For Zoom: I-9 Rules Are Tightening July 31, 2023: Real McCoy Rule(June 16, 2023). Employers had until August 30, 2023 to physically examine all documents verified remotely during that flexible time period.

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 71 PROTECT THE KIDS McDonald's Franchisees Cited for Child Labor Violations

The federal Department of Labor has cited five McDonald's franchisees for child labor violations involving close to 400 children at 78 locations inLouisiana, Texas,Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio, including two ten-year-olds - legally not permitted to work - working as late as 2 A.M.

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 34 LACTATION ACCOMMODATION POLICY

California requires all employers to provide lactating employees with reasonable time and adequate space to express breast milk in private at or near the employee's usual work area. The location, which cannot be a bathroom, must have access to electricity or alternative devices to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump and be safe, clean, and hazard-free, with a place to sit and a surface to place a breast pump and personal items. The company must also provide access to a sink with

CHECKS IN THE CITY Los Angeles Now Requires Written "Freelance Worker" Agreements

California leads the nation in restricting the kinds of workers validly classified as independent contractors/"non-employees." See, e.g.,California's Independent Contractors - An EndangeredSpecies by Newly Enacted "AB 5"(October 4, 2019).

HANDBOOK HELPER EPISODE 33 PREGNANCY DISABILITY LEAVES POLICY

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers with five or more on payroll to:

TAKE HEED Responding to Harassment and Discrimination Complaints Correctly

Employees and former employees routinely file internal grievances and/or lawsuits alleging that their employer did not take their claims of harassment or discrimination seriously. While this does not automatically mean the bad behavior occurred, only a foolish employer shrugs off such issues at the outset. Doing so, and especially disciplining the complainant for making the complaint, usually leads to an additional claim - for retaliation.

RISING FROM THE ASHES Legislature Revives Industrial Welfare Commission

California has numerous government agencies concerned with employment and labor issues. Until its disbanding 20 years ago, they included the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), the source ofthe 18 Wage Orders, largely by industry, still enforced in the state.