Consider the following scenarios: A customer repeatedly enters your company’s workplace, berates your employees, uses profanity, and then leaves. (Let’s call her “Cruella.”) Or perhaps a customer consistently comes
Continue Reading New California Law Empowers Employers to Seek Restraining Orders for Third Party Harassment, Not Just Violence or Threats, in the WorkplaceSince re-taking the White House 11 days ago, President Donald J. Trump has taken dramatic steps to dismantle DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs in workplaces nationwide. President Trump’s executive
Continue Reading President Trump Sacks DEI Programs: Key Considerations for California Employers
Our team has updated the firm’s handy Doing Business in California Guide for 2025. In this Guide we explain the key issues that make California such a compliance challenge for
Continue Reading Doing Business in California Guide Updated for 2025One instance of a coworker directing the “N-word” to a Black employee can rise to the level of being so severe as to make for a racially hostile work environment
Continue Reading One Use of the “N-word” Lands an Employer in a Jury Trial – Lessons to Learn
The allure of doing business in California is undeniable. It is the world’s fifth largest economy (moving toward fourth) and a market of more than 39 million people. For employers
Continue Reading Doing Business in California Guide (updated for 2024)
My sexual harassment prevention training sessions always include a discussion of the common misconceptions about it. The news about pop star Lizzo brought some of these issues top-of-mind . A
Continue Reading Harassment Prevention Reminders and Lessons from Lizzo
This post is part of Experience Matters, a series drawing on my 30+ years of defending employers in California employment litigation. The series highlights actions you can take to reduce
Continue Reading Take These Smart Steps to Reduce Risk, Build Defensible Terminations, and Stress Less!
How many times do people feel a twinge of misogyny, racism, anti-LGTBQ bias, or just that they work in an “old-boys network”? And when asked for examples, they
Continue Reading Blatant Misogyny and Racism at an Employment Defense Firm? Yes #MeToo Is Still Relevant
The New Rule: Employees are given whistleblower protection for lodging complaints of violations already known to the employer.
While California courts have already granted employees with broad whistleblower protection
Continue Reading ALERT: CHANGE IN LAW – RETALIATION PROTECTION NOW GIVEN TO EMPLOYEES COMPLAINING OF KNOWN VIOLATIONS
Hand-signed arbitration agreements will be easier for employers to enforce in light of a recent California Court of Appeal ruling. Declarations from former employees claiming they “do not recall” having
Continue Reading When Employees Sue, You may Wish They had Signed Their Arbitration Agreements by Hand