By: Sam G. Sherman
Many employers have been asking whether it is legal to ask a job applicant for a facebook password as a condition of employment. Employers have been reviewing applicants' public Facebook information for years, but the questions is whether to go one-step further to actually request a password. The answer? Absolutely not. Here are the reasons:
It can expose you to liability. California and federal law prevents an employer from refusing to hire an…
By: Sam G. Sherman
Everyone that reads the newspapers, watches the news, surfs the internet, heck, anyone not living under a rock, knows that California's governor has been cutting programs like crazy. One would think that would put in jeopardy the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)--the state agency tasked with protecting employee rights. Not so fast.
At the end of June, Governor Brown signed SB 1038. The bill strengthened the DFEH by eliminating the Fair Employment and…
By Joshua P. Katz & Mitchell B. Dubick
Ever wonder what you should do when the tax man comes knocking on the door of your business? Okay, what to do after cleaning up the floor? HFM's tax attorneys give you five great tips:
1. Ask to see the individual’s credentials . You will learn a great deal about the nature of the visit based on who is standing before you. A Revenue Officer will most likely be there to collect unpaid income…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
Sam Sherman with Higgs, Fletcher & Mack was recently quoted by NBC news discussing the Brinker decision that we wrote about last week.
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By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
The California Supreme Court decided Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Sup. Ct. today. Of course, employers throughout the state have been watching this case closely and waiting to see whether the Supreme Court would require employers to "ensure" employees take meal breaks, or merely "provide" employees with those breaks.
Ultimately, the Court decided the following:
Employers are obligated to afford hourly employees meal and rest periods and to relieve employees of all duties during those…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
In Aleman v. Airtouch Cellular the Second District Court of Appeals issued a win for employers interested in scheduling hourly employees for split shifts. California's wage orders define a split shift as "a work schedule, which is interrupted by non-paid non-working periods established by the employer, other than bona fide rest or meal periods." The wage orders state: "When an employee works a split shift, one (1) hour's pay at the minimum wage…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
On February 9, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor and California's secretary of labor entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The goal is to continue to target, and eliminate, employee misclassification. The press release can be found here.
At this point, it is unclear how the memorandum of understanding will impact employers. The press release merely indicates that the two agencies will "embark on new efforts" to prevent…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
Most California employers are waiting patiently for the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in Brinker v. Superior Court. As we posted a few weeks ago, the main issue in that case is whether an employer must ensure that its employees take their breaks or merely provide those breaks to employees.
The Supreme court heard oral argument on November 8, 2011, which would have required the court to issue a ruling by February 6, 2012.…
Verizon and Cablevision have reached a settlement in a dispute closely watched by California business dispute lawyers. The dispute involved a series of Verizon TV ads mocking Cablevision's Internet speeds. The settlement was announced just hours before a US District Court heard opening arguments in the dispute. The terms of the settlement between the two companies have not been revealed.
The dispute involves allegations that Verizon’s TV advertising campaign poked fun at Cablevision's prime time Internet speeds. Those ads mentioned the…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
In October, we told you about an NLRB Final Rule requiring employers to notify their employees of their rights under the NLRA by November 14, 2011. A few days later, the NLRB issued a press release delaying the implementation of the rule until January 31, 2011. Well, the NLRB has delayed the posting requirement one more time.
On December 23, 2011, the NLRB issued a press release indicating that it would delay the posting requirement until…