We previously reported that the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that an employer’s denial of accommodation to a nondisabled employee may serve as evidence of association discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Castro Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc. (2016) 2 Cal. App. 5th 1028. In Castro
CA Revives Former DJ’s Disability and Leave Claims Against Univision Radio
What 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
Calculation of California Paid Sick Leave May Spook Employers
As 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
California Governor Vetoes Parental Leave Bill Which Would Have Expanded Such Leave to Small Employers
The DOL’s final rule on paid sick leave was not the only news-making event in the world of leave management last Friday. While additional time off was being lauded by the federal government, additional protected leave was rejected in California.
On Friday September 30, 2016, California’s Governor Brown vetoed SB 654 (Jackson), the New Parent Leave Act. The Senate Bill would have created a new protected leave of absence for employers with 20 or more employees within a 75-mile radius in California. The vetoed bill would have added an additional 6 weeks of “parental leave” to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement leave, thus creating a potential total of over 5 months of protected leave for certain California employees. The bill also would have prohibited employers from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under a group health plan for an employee who takes the additional parental leave.
Continue Reading California Governor Vetoes Parental Leave Bill Which Would Have Expanded Such Leave to Small Employers
California Court of Appeal Finds Employer’s Denial of Accommodation to a Nondisabled Employee May Be Evidence of an Associational Disability Discrimination Claim
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
Giving Notice of “Unqualified” Leave Insufficient to Trigger FMLA Protections
While the principle seems straightforward, the Eleventh Circuit confirmed in Patrick Hurley v. Kent of Naples, Inc., et al.ss (11th Cir. March 20, 2014) that an employee must request FMLA-qualifying leave to garner the law’s protections. Requesting “potentially qualifying leave” is not enough.
The Eleventh Circuit vacated a lower court’s $1 million judgment in