Quirky Questions

Real Life Employment Law

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A New Question Every Week

Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.

This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.

We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.

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Author: Jessica Linehan

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What Do Employers Need to Know Following the Passage of California’s New Law on Independent Contractor Misclassification?

 

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On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code, thereby entitling them to the protections afforded by those laws. The bill codifies the standard set out in last year’s California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc....

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions, General, Independent Contractors, Labor Law
In a Common Sense Decision, Appellate Court Clarifies Deadline for Employers to Issue Wage Statements under Labor Code Section 226

In a Common Sense Decision, Appellate Court Clarifies Deadline for Employers to Issue Wage Statements under Labor Code Section 226

 

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It’s a situation any Human Resources professional might find themselves in – circumstances require you to effectuate a termination in short order and you have to scramble to calculate the employees’ correct final pay and prepare a paycheck. But what if the wage statement is not ready? Does the law require employers to provide a wage statement to a terminated...

POSTED IN California Questions, Discipline and Discharge, Wage and Hour Issues
When a Disclosure Form Must “Stand Alone”: Recent Cases Hold Companies Liable for Including Too Much on FCRA Disclosures

When a Disclosure Form Must “Stand Alone”: Recent Cases Hold Companies Liable for Including Too Much on FCRA Disclosures

 

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Let’s face it. The hiring process involves mounds of regulations, disclosures, authorizations, and then more disclosures. The last thing an employer – or applicant – wants to see is a higher stack of documents filled with legal jargon. Should employers then consolidate disclosures and authorizations to simplify the hiring process? Not when doing a credit check pursuant to the Fair...

POSTED IN Background Checks, General

Quirky Question #281: Deploying the DTSA

 

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Question: We believe our former employee recently stole some of our trade secrets and went to a competitor.  Can we rely on the Defend Trade Secrets Act to bring suit in federal court?

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Banking Industry Group, California Questions, Energy Industry Group, Food & Agriculture Industry Group, Health Care Industry Group, Litigation Issues, Mining Industry Group, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, P3D Industry Group

Question #275: Can We Take A Stand On Employees Sitting?

 

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Question: Some of our retail company’s employees in California are demanding chairs to sit in while they work. Management thinks it appears unprofessional to have workers sitting, but I hear the employees might have a legal right to sit down. Should management take a stand?

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: Banking Industry Group, California Questions, Class and Collective Actions, Food & Agriculture Industry Group

Quirky Question #271: We’ve Got a Worried Waiter

 

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Question: We recently interviewed a candidate for a server position at our restaurant. During the interview, he informed us that he has an anxiety disorder, which causes him to have panic attacks out of the blue. Do we have to hire him? What if he had a panic attack in the middle of serving a customer?

POSTED IN Disability Discrimination, Discipline and Discharge, Food & Agriculture Industry Group
Quirky Question #246, iKnow where your iPad is

Quirky Question #246, iKnow where your iPad is

 

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Question: Our California company intends to provide iPads to all of our sales employees, but to make sure we can locate the iPads if they are lost or stolen, we plan to use the iPads’ GPS capabilities to track their locations.  As an added bonus, we’ll also be able to track the sales employees themselves.  Any concerns with this plan?

VIEW ALL POSTS ABOUT: California Questions, Common Law Claims, Criminal Conduct, Employee Handbook / Policies