Receiving a serious medical diagnosis that requires surgery can be stressful. There are countless things to worry about, but you shouldn’t have to worry about losing your job while you are unable to work. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lets you take unpaid leave...
Employees facing sexual harassment should know their rights
Employees have certain rights when they’re at work, which includes the right to be safe from discrimination and harassment. In light of the #MeToo movement, numerous employees from a variety of industries have come forward, telling horror stories of being sexually...
Insurers and new laws deal with California dogs bites
Dogs bite Californians more than residents of any other state, judging from the most recent year of statistics available from the insurance company State Farm. The Golden State doesn’t even have stiff competition. This year, as in several years in the recent past, the...
4 pregnancy-related protections available under Title VII
No matter your personal situation, facing a pregnancy can be a time of great physical and emotional turmoil. Even the most well-planned pregnancy can be subjected to multiple unexpected factors and challenging decisions. When your ability to make a living is...
OSHA enforces whistleblower protection laws
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) governs nearly two-dozen whistleblower protection laws in California and elsewhere. Protections include rules for workplace safety in manufacturing, energy distribution or generation, construction and many other...
CA Supreme Court sees arbitration contract as unfairly signed
Late this summer, the California Supreme Court considered an agreement that limited an employee’s options for disputing his pay. The agreement forced the employee into mandatory arbitration more like a complex and expensive lawsuit than the cheaper, streamlined...
EEOC confirms employers can’t exclude people through targeted ads
In 2017, the New York Times and the independent newsroom ProPublica revealed that some companies were using Facebook’s ad targeting capacity to exclude older workers from seeing job ads they had placed. Then, the reporters discovered that others had been doing the...
Safe winter driving in California
While commuting in San Diego and across various roads in Southern California, you might believe that winter driving is a challenge that exists across the planet from you. In fact, you are only a short drive from some of California’s mountainous winter wonderlands. No...
Fatigue and distraction at sea top NTSB Most Wanted
Every two years, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releases a Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. The list publicizes transportation dangers that could be reduced if only employers and workers focused their efforts on them. The...
Pre-Civil War era maritime law re-enters headlines
The year was 1838. Martin Van Buren was in the White House, California wouldn’t become a state for 12 more years, and Major League Baseball wouldn’t play ball for another 31 years. 1838 was also the year that lawmakers signed the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute into...
