California Compliance

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CaliforniaWhat is a disability? And when are employers on notice to provide employees leave?  These were some of the questions raised in the California Court of Appeals (Second Appellate District) November 15, 2016 decision, Soria v. Univision Radio Los Angeles, Inc.

Sofia Soria, a former DJ at Univision Radio Los Angeles Inc. (“Univision”), filed suit against Univision, primarily alleging disability discrimination, failure to accommodate disability, failure to engage in the interactive process under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and interference with California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) rights. Soria was diagnosed with a potentially cancerous stomach tumor in late 2010. In late 2011, she allegedly gave multiple notices of her condition to Univision and missed some work due to medical appointments. In December 2011, after Soria allegedly told her supervisor that she may need surgery, she was terminated.

The lower court granted summary judgment in favor of Univision, but the California Court of Appeals (the “Court”) disagreed, finding there were factual disputes which the Court could not resolve. Some of the key disability and leave related findings include:Continue Reading CA Revives Former DJ’s Disability and Leave Claims Against Univision Radio

CaliforniaOn October 7, 2016, Dependable Highway Express filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review a decision to allow a non-disabled employee to pursue his claim of association based disability discrimination.  The employee alleged that he was terminated from employment after he made complaints about changes to his work schedule which impacted his …

CaliforniaAs if paid sick leave wasn’t scary enough!  From accrual methods, to the protections provided to the time off, to the varying (and ever growing) laws in different jurisdictions, paid sick leave can be spooky.  What about how to calculate the rate of pay for the paid sick leave??  On October 11, 2016, the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) issued an opinion letter regarding its interpretation under California’s Healthy Workplace Health Families Act of 2014 (the “California Paid Sick Leave Law”) of the method of calculation of paid sick leave for employees paid by commissions and exempt employees who are given an annual, non-discretionary bonus.
Continue Reading Calculation of California Paid Sick Leave May Spook Employers

On August 29, 2016, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District reversed summary judgment earlier awarded to the employer in Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc. In its reversal, the court found that an employer’s denial of accommodation to a nondisabled employee may be evidence of associational disability discrimination under the Fair…