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Does Pregnant Employee Have a Discrimination Claim?

By Beth Kahn and Timothy J. Toohey, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP A California employer fired a pregnant employee for violating its policy on reporting missing customer deposits. On appeal, the California Court of Appeal considered whether the employee had a claim for pregnancy discrimination and whether the employer had a legitimate reason for terminating […]

Clarify and Coach, the Two Cs of Performance Management

Too often, managers avoid giving honest evaluations. Maybe they fear causing hurt feelings or maybe they don’t know what to do, but the result is the same—a lost lawsuit. The solution? The two Cs—Clarify and Coach. You know you should be coaching Terry, but you’re busy, and Terry’s doing OK. Well, OK is overstating it, […]

News Notes: Harassment Complaint Used As A Pretext To Terminate Employee May Cost Employer $3.4 Million

Loren Peterson, the former president of financial printer Bowne of Los Angeles, was fired after allegedly admitting he violated the company’s sexual harassment policy. The incident involved comments he was accused of making while dancing with secretary Maria Gonzales on a company-sponsored trip to Club Med. But Peterson charged that the company used this as […]

OFCCP Proposes Pay Data Reporting Rules for Federal Contractors

Certain federal contractors and subcontractors would have to submit summary data annually to the federal government that would identify employee compensation based on sex, race, hours worked and other factors, under new regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The rules’ preamble called this “a critical tool for […]

EBSA Proposes Change to MEWA Form 5500 Reporting Requirements

Employers and plan administrators with multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) that had not been required to file a Form 5500 for their MEWA may have to if  a proposal by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is adopted. EBSA on Dec. 6 published a proposed revision to Section 2520 of the […]

Senate Confirms Sotomayor to U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court today in a 68-31 vote. As expected, the Senators voted along party lines, with all Senate Democrats and only nine Republicans voting to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee. The final step in Sotomayor’s road to the Supreme Court will be a White House […]

Breach of privacy rights: What’s it worth?

by Lorene Novakowski In a recent Alberta arbitration award, the arbitrator awarded damages to employees for a breach of their privacy rights, in the amount of $1,250 each. The grievance arose after the province of Alberta conducted background credit checks  without consent on 26 government employees. The employees worked in an area–maintenance enforcement–that gave them discretion in […]