Online Exclusive: Sample California Interactive Process Questionnaire Both state and federal laws require employers to engage in an interactive process with disabled employees who require workplace accommodations to determine the available and most appropriate accommodations. A sample questionnaire—that complies with both California law and the recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act—follows. It should be completed by the employee's treating physician or other healthcare professional to assist both the employer and the employee in the interactive process. . . . more Bulletin: U.S. Supreme Court to decide text message case The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this spring in City of Ontario v. Quon to determine whether the California city violated an officer's privacy rights by reading . . . more Bulletin: Notices on COBRA subsidy extension due Feb. 17 Late last year, President Obama signed legislation to extend the COBRA subsidy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Eligible individuals now qualify for . . . more Sexual Harassment: Court Denies Employee's Harassment Claim; Mutual Banter Doesn't Create a Hostile Work Environment Employees and employers alike are often confused about just what constitutes a hostile work environment. What some may experience as hostile is often perceived as no big deal by others. While the hostile work environment legal analysis remains highly fact-specific and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, a recent California appeals court decision suggests that, when comments of a possibly sexual nature occur in the context of mutual banter, a hostile work environment might not be found. . . . more Immigration: Federal I-9 Investigations Are Under Way; How to Get and Stay Prepared At the end of 2009, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, announced that it had issued I-9 audit notices to 1,000 businesses nationwide. According to ICE press releases, this may well be only the first of several immigration enforcement efforts that will continue through 2010. Between April and mid-November 2009, ICE initiated almost 1,900 prosecutions against employers for I-9 violations. This is more than three times the number of prosecutions in the same period in 2008. . . . more Discrimination: Understanding the New Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Advances in genetics have opened new pathways in medicine, allowing for earlier detection of illnesses like breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and colon cancer, and providing individuals the opportunity to take steps to reduce the likelihood of ever contracting certain disorders. Genetic knowledge also makes it possible to develop treatments that are more effective against certain diseases or have fewer side effects than current therapies. . . . more Noncompetes: Court Strikes Down Another Noncompete/Nonsolicitation Agreement; Unique Rules for California Employers For many companies--especially those headquartered outside of California--asking employees to sign noncompete and nonsolicitation contracts is a common practice. A noncompete contract is an agreement made by an employee, usually at the time of hire, not to go to work for a competitor of the employer for a specified period of time after the employment relationship ends. A nonsolicitation agreement prohibits an employee, once he or she leaves the company, from soliciting the employer's customers, business associates, and current employees on behalf of a competitor. . . . more Disability: Employee's Reasonable Accommodation Claim Fails; When You Do—and Don't—Need to Engage in the 'Interactive Process' Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California law, employers are required to engage in an "interactive process" with disabled employees who need accommodation to determine which accommodations are both feasible for the employer and helpful to the employee. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, recently found that employers must engage in the interactive process only with employees who are legally disabled. To avoid potential liability, though, employers should continue to take this important obligation seriously. . . . more Wage and Hour: Even Mistaken Wage Claims Are Protected From Retaliation California law protects employees from retaliation for making complaints about their wages and working conditions. But what if the employee makes a mistaken claim for unpaid wages? As a recent court of appeals decision makes clear, an employee's wage complaint need not be valid to be protected by California law. . . . more News Note: Independent Contractors of Federal Employers Covered by Disability Bias Law In general, state and federal bias laws apply only to "employees." But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, recently ruled that, under the federal Rehabilitation Act, both employees and independent contractors . . . more News Note: EEOC Files Sexual Harassment Suit Against Jack in the Box Franchisee Kobra Associates, Inc., a Northern and Eastern California franchisee of about 70 Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants, has been sued by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The complaint alleges that . . . more News Note: Congress Moves Back Deadline to File for Extended Unemployment Benefits As part of the national defense appropriations bill, the U.S. Congress has pushed the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits to . . . more News Note: Outback Steakhouse Chain Settles Sex-Bias Suit for $19 Million The EEOC announced that the Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain has agreed to pay $19 million to settle a national class action lawsuit. The women plaintiffs alleged that the company maintained a "glass ceiling" . . . more News Note: Settlement of UPS Supply Chain Solutions Overtime Lawsuit Approved The federal district court for the Northern District of California has approved a $12.8 million class action settlement in an overtime case brought against UPS Supply Chain Solutions on behalf of workers in . . . more Bulletin: Most workers report "stagnant" jobs More than half of workers say their jobs are stagnant, and nearly two-thirds of workers say they have no desire to . . . more Bulletin: Special Report enclosed with this issue: What's New for 2010. While the legislative and executive branches of the state government continued to lock horns, the judicial branch busily ruled on important issues such as . . . more Human Resources: Planning for the Year Ahead; 10 Things You Can Do to Get Things Rolling Right Once all of the holiday confetti has settled, January is a great time to get organized for the year ahead. By setting aside a little time for the following "action items," you can help ensure that 2010 starts off on the right foot. . . . more Disability: Employers Must Ensure Accommodations Are Provided Consistently; One Employer's Costly Mistake Both California and federal law require employers to accommodate disabled employees, unless doing so would be an unreasonable burden on the employer's business. Reasonable accommodations include modifications to employee duties and work spaces, modified . . . more Whistleblowers: Employee Complaints Didn't Warrant Legal Protection; How to Spot Bona Fide Whistleblowers Is every complaint an employee makes entitled to protection as a whistleblower complaint? According to a recent decision from a federal district court, the answer is no—an employee's complaints must be very specific to qualify as whistleblowing. Read on to find out the key distinctions. . . . more Compensation: Court OKs Employee Stock Forfeitures; The Basics of Employee Stock Ownership Plans For several years now, many employers have begun offering employees stock in the company either instead of bonuses or as deferred compensation. These arrangements are known as . . . more Sexual Harassment: Company Fined for Failing to Prevent Bias and Harassment; Five Simple Steps to Limit Your Liability In a small office that has only one manager on site, it can be very difficult to ensure that that person won't violate company policies. However, as one company recently learned the hard way, there are steps you should take to limit the company's liability for a rogue manager's actions. . . . more Workers' Compensation: Court Says Injured Employee Failed to Prove Discrimination; Consistency Is Key When an employee who was injured on the job wants to return to work, do you risk getting in legal hot water for workers' comp bias if you question the doctor's release authorization? A recent court decision says . . . more Reimbursements: Court Says Employees Don't Have to Follow Company Rules in Order to Be Paid Back In California, employees have a right to be reimbursed for their work-related expenses, such as business travel, training, equipment, materials, and even legal expenses. Most companies typically maintain their own deadlines, rules, special forms, and other procedural requirements that must be followed to request and receive expense reimbursements. . . . more News Note: White House Endorses Paid Sick Leave Bill With the H1N1 flu pandemic raising concerns that employees will report to work sick and spread the illness, the Obama administration has . . . more News Note: IRS to Audit Employment Tax Payments of 6,000 Companies The federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced plans to audit the payroll tax payments of 6,000 employers nationwide during the first few months of 2010. The employers will be . . . more News Note: OSHA Publishes H1N1 Fact Sheet The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a fact sheet to inform employers and workers about ways to reduce the risk of exposure . . . more News Note: Labor Commissioner Charges California Car Washes More Than $900K In a series of statewide sweeps at the end of 2009, the California labor commissioner's office issued orders for car wash business owners to pay . . . more News Note: Lawry's Restaurant Chain to Pay $1 Million in Male Sex Bias Suit Pasadena-based Lawry's Restaurants, which operates a nationwide chain of steak houses, will pay more than . . . more Bulletin: EEOC releases new version of poster The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised its "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law" poster, which employers are required to post . . . more Bulletin: Temporary total disability rate for 2010 will increase to $986.69 per week The maximum temporary total disability (TTD) rate will increase to $986.69 on Jan. 1, 2010. This increase to the maximum TTD rate marks . . . more More