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As of April 1, 2016, the California Fair Employment and Housing Council has implemented new regulations for constructing employment policies against harassment and discrimination in the workplace.  Any employer with five or more employees is required by law to have a written policy against harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and there are certain requirements…

I recently asked my 6 year-old niece what was her favorite subject in school and she replied:  “Recess.”  Certainly, that is true for most 6 year-olds.  The same likely is the case for working adults. Research shows that taking breaks during work is important for mental health and concentration, and that taking breaks actually prevents employees from getting…

When we hear the term “sexual harassment”, many of us tend to think about a situation where someone is exposed to unwanted, harassing conduct. We also tend to think of this conduct as sexually driven, whether it is through inappropriate touching or sexually explicit comments. This limited understanding of sexual harassment prevents us from recognizing…

With the spotlight today on rehabilitation programs in prison, and programs to ease the transition back into society, it is no wonder that the law is evolving to protect those who have been previously in trouble with the law. Those with criminal records already face an uphill battle if they are applying for jobs. Surveys…

In what is one of the largest awards awarded to a plaintiff in a pregnancy discrimination case, a jury has awarded one California woman $185 million in punitive damages after she was fired and demoted for complaining about gender and pregnancy discrimination. In 2005, Rosario Juarez, a manager at an Autozone in National City, California,…

The latest minimum wage increase for hourly employees in California occurred in July 2014, raising the minimum wage from $8 to $9 per hour. Along with the increase in the minimum hourly wage for hourly employees in California came an increase in minimum overtime pay and the minimum salary requirement for certain exempt (salaried) employees…

On Wednesday, May 21, Congress rejected a bill that would have served to curb so called, “patent troll” lawsuits. “Patent troll” suits are usually brought by a company that patents a product with no intention of putting the product on the market. Rather, the company makes its money on the patent by enforcing its patent…

In March 2014, Guadalupe Lopez, a female police officer and deputy with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, filed a lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles, alleging that she and other female members of the Sheriff’s Department suffered sexual harassment at the hands of a group of male officers who call themselves the “Banditos.” Lopez…

There are a number of benefits to registering a trademark and these are generally different from those of registering a copyright. They include preventative protection from “copycats” as well as legal rights for the trademark owner that would not exist absent a trademark registration. Since a trademark is a visible symbol of your product or…

In an ethnically diverse state such as California, many workplaces employ individuals who speak a language other than English. While employers in California are clearly prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of the employee’s race or national origin, the law is less clear when it comes to workplace rules regarding language. So, is…