Teresa McQueen is Corporate Counsel for Western Growers. In that capacity she provides advice and counsel to the organization on employment law matters and commercial trade practices. She also provides legal guidance to Western Growers members on employment law, human resources, and commercial agreements, as well as providing law-related educational opportunities and overseeing annual updates […]
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. The signing of the ADA was considered the most sweeping affirmation of the rights for the disabled in American history. In honor of the ADA’s 30th Anniversary the Biden Administration has announced the release of a ...
Many local minimum wages increases are set to take effect across California on July 1, 2021. To assure continued compliance with applicable wage and hour laws, employers must be complaint by the July 1st effective date. Here are a few tips to get you up-to-speed: Determine if your business is located within a city or ...
No matter the employer’s hiring protocols—conducting interviews, contacting references, or initiating background checks—it is up to the designated hiring team to determine which applicant(s) will be selected for review and ultimately hired. The first step of this process is to initiate a review of the pool of applicants and delete those who clearly do not ...
The Colorado Supreme Court recently (June 14, 2021) issued a landmark ruling that an employer must pay an employee’s earned but unused vacation pay upon separation from employment. The ruling goes even further to provide that any agreement or policy forfeiting unused vacation pay is void as a matter of law. Like many states Colorado ...
On June 15, 2021 the EEOC released its updated guidance on protections extended to LGBTQ+[1] workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Title VII prohibits a private employer from discriminating against any employee because of a protected classification (e.g., race, color, national origin, and sex). The EEOC’s latest guidelines ...
Many employers find it worthwhile to check the references, job history, personal character, criminal conviction history or credit history of an individual prior to making the decision to hire or promote. This can be done through an in-house investigation using public records or by an outside third-party consumer reporting agency (CRA). Initiating background checks and ...
On July 21, 2021, Jennifer Abruzzo was confirmed by the U.S. Senate (51-50) to a four-year term as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Previously serving as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel for the NLRB during the Obama administration, Ms. Abruzzo most recently served as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives ...
By asking the right questions employers can gain a wealth of information about the job candidate and their qualifications for the position sought. Interviewing also allows an employer to compare potential candidates with one another so that it can choose the applicant that best fits its needs. Below are some tips and suggestions for conducting ...
In the face of the current workforce shortage, many employers are revisiting current policies requiring employees to be at least 18 years of age and expanding job opportunities to young workers. Employers considering such policy changes should keep in mind state and federal child labor laws ensure minors receive access to safe occupations that do ...
In anticipation of another heavy wildfire season employers are reminded that wildfire smoke and subsequent cleanup efforts present unique workplace hazards. In California, Cal/OSHA mandates protective equipment (e.g., N95 masks) as a wildfire season necessity in areas where the current Air Quality Index (current AQI) for airborne particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or smaller (PM2.5) is ...
An increase in COVID-19 cases across the nation has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend everyone – including fully vaccinated individuals – once again wear masks in indoor public settings where transmissions are considered “substantial” or “high.” To determine your regions level of community transmission (state/county or metro areas) checkout…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently announced a new filing deadline for Employer Information Reports (EEO-1). The new deadline is Monday, August 23, 2021. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 this reporting period will include both the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 forms. Employers subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights ...
Fair chance or Ban-the-Box laws restrict an employer from asking about an applicant’s criminal background history in the early stages of the hiring process. And while there is no federal Ban the Box law that applies to private sector employers, the EEOC and the Arizona Civil Rights Division prohibit employers from asking an applicant about ...
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order “Promoting Competition in the American Economy” (Order) encouraging the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “to consider working with the rest of the Commission to exercise the FTC’s statutory rulemaking authority…to curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that ...
The goal of effective recruiting is to find the right person for any job opening. Effective recruiting practices that consider the specific needs of the organization with an eye toward limiting potential legal risk, saves time as well as money. Developing a step-by-step recruiting process allows an employer time to identify its workforce needs,decide how ...
Julie Su, former California Labor Commissioner (2011 – 2018) and Secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate (50-47) as Deputy Secretary of Labor. Known as a recognized expert on workers’ rights and civil rights, employers nationwide can expect Su to continue enforcement efforts on behalf ...
On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC. The question at issue: The statutory meaning of the wage and hours terms, ‘regular rate of compensation’ and ‘regular rate of pay,’ and “whether the Legislature intended ‘regular rate of compensation’[i][] to have the same meaning as ‘regular rate of ...
On May 29, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant ruling in Magadia v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc. Walmart was sued in 2016 under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) by former employee Roderick Magadia alleging violations of California Labor Code wage statement and meal period laws. The allegations included hyper-technical violations relating ...
Colorado’s continued push to eradicate inequitable pay practices, coupled with (surprisingly) effective remote work technologies, and evolving workplace perspectives have raised unique concerns for in-state employers as well as multijurisdictional employers whose employees live and work within the state. Signed into law in 2019, and unique among the states, Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal…
As reported here, Cal/OSHA’s June 17th Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) amendments were intended to bring California Department of Public Health mask guidelines and Cal-OSHA’s workplace requirements more in line with CDC recommendations. A welcome turn of events allowing employers a more identifiable means of preparing to return workers to the workplace. However, since the passage ...
