Teresa McQueen, Author at Western Growers Association - Page 23 of 29 Western Growers Association

Teresa McQueen

Western Growers, Corporate Counsel III

Teresa McQueen is Corporate Counsel III 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 […]

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Posts By: Teresa McQueen

Best Practices: Revoking A Conditional Offer of Employment

California’s Fair Chance Act (FCA) limits an employer’s use of an applicant’s or employee’s criminal conviction history in the following ways: Including questions about an individual’s conviction history before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Inquiring, considering, or discriminating information about an applicant’s or employee’s criminal conviction history before…

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Best Practices – The At-Will Nature of Employment

With few exceptions, almost all states, including California and Arizona, adhere to the default rule of at-will employment. The at-will nature of employment; the ability to terminate the employment relationship with or without notice for any reason, so long as it’s not a wrongful reason, is an important legal protection, and can help in challenging ...

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Sexual Harassment – It’s Still A Thing

A workplace “rife with fear and intimidation” is how independent investigators reporting on allegations of sexual harassment by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo described the work environment of the Governor’s Executive Chambers. A toxic workplace culture that not only enabled harassing conduct, but also “created a hostile work environment overall.[i]” Staggering. The…

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UPDATE: EEO-1 Reporting Deadline Extended

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just announced that it is once again extending its EEO-1 Data Collection filing deadline. The new deadline for uploading EEO-1 reports for 2019 and 2020 has been extended from August 23, 2021 to October 25, 2021. Employers subject to EEO-1 reporting requirements should take note that the EEOC’s extension ...

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Vaccination Mandate Q & A

To mandate vaccinations or not to mandate vaccinations, that is the question. As instances of the COVID-19 Delta variant rises across the country more and more businesses are beginning to require vaccination as a condition of employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the California Department of Fair Employment ...

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Court Applies FAA Default Rule to Resolve Conflicting Arbitration Provisions

A recent decision by the California Court of Appeal (2nd App. Dist.) relied on the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) to settle a question of ambiguity created by a typographical error in a third-party translation of an employer’s arbitration agreement. In the case Western Bagel Co. Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County and Jose ...

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Demanding A Warrant From OSHA? Think Twice.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH), and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA); three agencies, one mission: improving and protecting the health and safety of workers across all industries. Each of these three agencies (collectively, “OSHA”) sets health and safety standards, provides outreach,…

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Best Practices: Compensable Time – Donning and Doffing

One of the costliest mistakes an employer can make is failing to pay compensable time in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Arizona law follows federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding compensable time such as defining the workday, the de minimis doctrine, pre- and post-shift activities (e.g., donning and ...

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PAGA Claims Are Not Subject To Arbitration

Confirmation has again been provided – if such was needed – that current or former employees “cannot be compelled to arbitrate [Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)] claims based on a predispute arbitration agreement.” This was the finding of the Court of Appeal (5th District) in its ruling in the case Herrera v. Doctors Medical Center ...

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Best Practices: Vacation Time

Employers are not required by law to provide employees with paid vacation; it is a non-mandatory benefit. However, once an employer elects to provide paid vacation to its employees, there are some important guidelines that must be followed. Provided below is an overview of some of the most important things to keep in mind when ...

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Reminder: American Rescue Plan COBRA Subsidy Notices

The Department of Labor has created a Model Notice of Expiration of Period of Premium Assistance to help COBRA Administrators prepare for the upcoming American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) COBRA subsidy program expiration date of September 30, 2021. Assistance eligible individuals must receive notice of the subsidies expiration date 15 to 45 days in advance ...

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New OSHA Vaccine Mandate Directive

A new directive from the White House has the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tasked with implementing a new emergency rule mandating that employers with 100+ employees require their workforce to be vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to produce negative COVID-19 tests on a weekly basis. Building on earlier vaccination-related mandates – requiring all ...

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Best Practices: Safeguarding Employee Medical Information

COVID-19 and its Delta variant continue to wreak havoc in the workplace. A continually changing landscape of guidelines, mandates, and federal emergency temporary standards (EST) make it increasingly difficult to stay abreast of the private employer’s increasing responsibilities. With more and more private employers implementing – or considering implementing – vaccination mandates, it is…

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Best Practices: Performance Reviews

Performance reviews, or employee evaluations, are an important tool for supervisors and managers to strengthen employees’ performance and acknowledge high achievers. No matter how formal, and regardless of the format, a review of this kind is the process of determining how well an employee is doing their job, the criteria for future performance, and mutual ...

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California Labor Commissioner Takes A Hardline on COVID Leave Rules

In a July 2021 ruling, California’s Labor Commissioner levied $448,000 worth of fines against three El Super grocery stores for violations of California’s COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) laws. After receiving complaints from El Super employees and a referral from the worker’s labor union, an investigation was launched by the Division of Labor Standards ...

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PAGA: Issues of Manageability Save The Day

In answering a question of first impression, the California Court of Appeals (2nd District) has given weight to the affirmative defense of manageability in California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation. Manageability has long been a watchword for employers defending against PAGA litigation. In the case Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC the Court ...

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Best Practices: Performance Reviews Formats

As discussed here, performance reviews, or employee evaluations, are an important tool for supervisors and managers to strengthen employees’ performance and acknowledge high achievers. Continuing our best practices discussion for effective performance reviews we provide the following tips on performance review formats. The two major styles in writing reviews are a narrative style and a…

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Reimagining Work and Workplaces

Pre-pandemic workplace thinking emphasized the traditional ‘brick and mortar’ office as critical to productivity, culture and recruiting efforts. A year of pandemic induced need quickly integrated videoconferencing technology and other forms of digital collaboration into our work lives creating unique and non-traditional work environments. As businesses across the nation begin to contemplate…

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Best Practices: Managing Vacation Benefits

In today’s competitive job market, a generous benefits package can be an essential tool for attracting and retaining top talent. Still reeling from the impacts of an unprecedented pandemic, workers are now, more than ever, focused on their well-being and achieving a greater work-life balance. In fact, a recent Deloitte study found 80% of those ...

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DHS Extends Updated Form I-9 Procedures

U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has extended its new employee Form I-9 compliance flexibility regulations until December 31, 2021. Initial flexibility regulations temporarily exempted employees hired on or after April 1, 2021 – working exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions – from ICE’s physical inspection requirements associated with completion…

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