Business & Office News
Discrepancy between California Family Leave Act and FMLA
Sacramento, CA: A new study published by Forbes suggests that although employees in California have access to paid family leave, few employees are using it. A major reason for that discrepancy could be that although California’s Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) allows for paid family leave, it does not offer job protection for workers who take the leave. That protection is offered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), but those acts only apply to certain employees who are on unpaid leave.
California State Bar Faces $15 Million Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
Los Angeles, CA: The California State Bar faces a $15 million wrongful termination lawsuit alleging a former administrative assistant was fired for reporting ethical violations. Sonja Oehler filed the California wrongful termination suit, claiming she was fired because she knew about incompetence on the part of State Bar leadership and further claiming that other employees were also wrongfully fired from their jobs.
TrueCar Truly Believes It Is Compliant with California Law
Santa Monica, CA: In an ongoing California compliance battle between the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) and TrueCar Inc. (TrueCar), the former continues to chase the latter in the courts over what the CNCDA feels is unlawful pricing, together with false and misleading advertising on the part of TrueCar, or so it is alleged.
Cigna Settles ERISA Lawsuit
Los Angeles, CA: Cigna has agreed to settle an ERISA lawsuit alleging patient harassment. The ERISA lawsuit was filed against Cigna by Nutrishare Inc, an intravenous nutrition provider. In the lawsuit, Nutrishare alleged Cigna harassed patients who attempted to use out-of-network benefits and denied coverage that should have been allowed.
California Minimum Wage Increases
San Diego, CA: As of January 1, 2016, the California minimum wage has increased to $10.00 per hour. That means all eligible employees must be paid at least $10.00 per hour for regular hours. Employees who are not properly paid the minimum wage may be eligible to file a wage and hour lawsuit against their employer.
New California FMLA Laws Take Effect
Sacramento, CA: Parents in California now have more flexibility when it comes to their families, thanks to a new California family leave bill. The bill, which took effect as of January 1, increases protections for parents who have to take time off to care for children or enroll children in school.
Judge in Uber Case Rules on Arbitration Agreements
San Francisco, CA: Plaintiffs in the Uber misclassification lawsuit have been handed another victory in their litigation against the ridesharing company. The judge in the lawsuit has ruled against Uber’s arbitration agreement, setting the stage for thousands more plaintiffs to join the lawsuit.
California Fair Pay Act About to Take Effect
Sacramento, CA: On January 1, 2016, California’s Fair Pay Act, SB 358 (Jackson), will take effect. The bill will give more grounds for employees to challenge pay discrimination. In addition to addressing wage disparity, the bill is designed to prevent employers from retaliating against employees who discuss their pay.
According to the
Although there are existing state and federal laws that address pay inequality, those laws contain loopholes that make it easier for employers to prevent employee discussions of their pay. For example, one of the provisions in the existing California law regards wage differentials only when they occur at the same establishment, not within the same company. So a woman doing the same work as a man, for the same company but at a different office could still be paid less without breaking the law.
“Pay secrecy also contributes to the gender wage gap, because women cannot challenge wage discrimination that they do not know exists,” the bill states. “Although California law prohibits employers from banning wage disclosures and retaliating against employees for engaging in this activity, in practice many employees are unaware of these protections and others are afraid to exercise these rights due to potential retaliation.”
Revisions to the bill would mean employers would have to prove a wage differential is based not on gender but on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or another legal factor other than sex. Otherwise, if men and women do substantially similar work, they must be paid the same even if their job titles and employment locations are different. Furthermore, employers would be prohibited from retaliating or discrimination against any employee who attempts to protect her rights based on the bill, and would further be prohibited from preventing employees from discussing their wages or the wages of other employees.
Employers who are found to violate the law could face legal action. The new bill could see a rise in gender pay discrimination once it takes effect.
A Hard Life, Unfairness the Bastion of the California Undocumented Worker
San Francisco, CA: Julieta Yang’s voice is only one in the wilderness that is the undocumented worker in California. But the single mother of three who hails from the Philippines is an example of the challenges and hurdles faced by the undocumented worker in the state of California.
California Judge Grants Preliminary Approval to $1.8 Million Settlement
Los Angeles, CA: A California Wage and Hour Employment class-action lawsuit reached an important milestone a week ago when a US District Court Judge gave a nod to a settlement worth $1.8 million. Up to 22,000 class members will share in about $1.2 million, with the remainder going to attorney’s fees.
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