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 […]
California’s Civil Rights Department has announced the release of a new monthly “Civil Rights 101” webinar series. The series is free and focuses on addressing discrimination in both housing and employment. The series supports both employers and employees and is geared toward educating employers, hiring managers, human resource professionals, workers, job seekers, tenants, housing seekers,…
California’s newly signed SB 616 amends the state’s Healthy Workplace, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA) by increasing accrual/frontloading paid sick leave mandates from 24 hours (3 days) to 40 hours (5 days) and increasing cap amounts to 80 hours. Currently, with certain exceptions, the HWHFA entitles an employee to paid sick days if the employee works in California for the same…
Variety store retailer Dollar General recently agreed to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit for violations of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) and Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Acts (GINA). The $1 million dollar settlement is a cautionary tale for those employers who require applicants to pass pre-employment medical exams. It is also an important…
Starting January 1, 2024, California employers with five or more employees will be required to provide qualifying employees with five days of leave following a ‘reproductive loss.’ SB 848 makes it unlawful for a covered employer to refuse to grant Reproductive Leave (“Leave”) following a miscarriage, failed surrogacy, stillbirth, unsuccessful “assisted reproduction” (i.e.,…
Just to drive home the point that California is serious when it says noncompete agreements are unenforceable, Governor Newsom has signed yet another bill on the subject. As discussed here, on September 1, 2023 Governor Newsom signed into law SB 699, a statute firmly establishing the state’s position when it comes to prohibiting restrictive covenants. On October 13, 2023, the Governor signed…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) 2022 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection opens October 31, 2023. The EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory annual data collection for all private sector employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors meeting certain criteria including having 50 or more employees. Additional reporting details and resources can be found…
On September 30, 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 428 providing expanded protection against certain types of workplace violence and harassment. Existing law allows an employer to seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) to protect employees and their immediate family members from a person who has engaged in violence or a credible threat of violence. However, when…
