In the realm of workplace defamation claims, the aggrieved employee (or plaintiff) needs to show that the slanderous (spoken) or libelous (written) comments harmed the reputation of the employee.  There are five…

There are four common defenses to defamation claims: privilege, consent, truth and opinion.  This entry will discuss the most widely employed defense to workplace defamation claims – absolute and qualified privileges. Absolute…

There is no California or federal law, which requires employers to provide employees with vacation time.  Nonetheless, if the employer does provide vacation time, certain provisions of the California Labor Code must…

Despite the acrimony surrounding President Obama’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (better known as the health care bill), many of the most important provisions to bring health care…

Recently I had a series of inquires about the role of religion in the workplace – is an employer required to give employees time off for an important religious holiday?  And, does…

In general, California does not require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees nor are employers obligated to give employees unpaid sick leave.  Also, even if sick leave is provided,…

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) both allow eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks per calendar year of unpaid leave.  The…

In California non-exempt employees must be “provided” a 30-minute meal period for ever five hours worked.  Employees who work ten hours or more in a workday must be provided with two 30-minute…