In a prior article, we discussed some concerns that employees may have with collecting unemployment benefits after receiving a severance offer.  In this article, we will focus on the types of claims…

Since many terminated and current employees ask about it, I thought I might dive into the treacherous waters of defamation in the workplace.  Defamatory conduct in the workplace may occur, for example,…

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,…