A Whole New World for California HR Professionals
It's an election year. Economists and pundits debate whether the U.S. economy is experiencing a downturn or a recession. And already this year we've seen the arrival of major legal developments—including the biggest changes to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act since its inception. More changes to the laws and regulations that govern your relationship with your employees are on the way. It's a whole new world for HR professionals. Your employment law compliance obligations and challenges have changed dramatically. It's far from business as usual for California employers. Employee lawsuits actually increase dramatically during times of economic hardship. Disgruntled former employees are looking for extra money anyplace they think they can get it, and even good employees who need to be let go for legitimate financial reasons often suspect improper motives. In this new environment, even veteran HR professionals can get tripped up by trouble spots like hiring and interviewing, electronic recordkeeping, and workers' comp—not to mention the new concerns about workplace bullying that are all over the news. Make a mistake, even a well-intentioned one, and your company could be facing an expensive lawsuit that's equally costly for your company's good name. Million-Dollar Payouts Over the past few years, in California alone:
- Former Pyramid Breweries employees working at the company's Sacramento, Berkeley, and Walnut Creek locations claimed they were illegally denied their meal and rest breaks; the company has agreed to settle for $1.3 million.
- In Ventura, a former fire department official claiming wrongful termination will receive $750,000 in damages and legal fees, as well as thousands more in back pay and benefits, and will be allowed to return to work.
- A San Diego judge ordered Starbucks to pay its California baristas a jolting $100 million in back tips and interest, after finding that the coffee chain violated California wage and hour law by allowing shift supervisors to share in employee tips.
- A judge ordered that the attorneys who represented Stacy Johnson-Klein, former Fresno State women's basketball coach, in her bias lawsuit against California State University be paid $2.5 million in attorney's fees. The payout for Johnson-Klein herself was recently reduced but still breaks the bank at a whopping $6.6 million.
- Darden Restaurants paid $4 million to settle a wage/hour class action lawsuit brought by California employees of Red Lobster and Olive Garden.
- A Simi Valley jury sided with a Vons supermarket employee who claimed that his female supervisor sexually harassed him, awarding him $1.672 million for economic loss and emotional distress, plus a massive $16.73 million in punitive damages. An internal investigation report corroborated the supervisor's misconduct, yet she was never counseled or disciplined.
Don't Become The Next Headline Join us for the California Employment Law Update in San Francisco from November 5-7 for in-depth, comprehensive instruction on what you need to know about the new California and federal laws, regulations, and court cases that affect you and your organization. Explanations and Clarifications Specifically for California HR Professionals All of the conference sessions are designed specifically for California HR professionals. You won't be wasting your time on information that doesn't apply to you. Our instructors—top lawyers and HR experts in their fields—know the ins and outs of the laws in these areas, including the subtle nuances that can trip you up. This conference presents a unique opportunity to learn from these experts in an intensive setting and get the answers to the specific questions that cause you grief on a regular basis. Many other conferences go broad, covering a smattering of topics at a surface level. This conference is different: two days of information-packed 90-minute sessions—just 8 sessions total—that go beneath the surface and explain what you need to know about your major trouble spots. All sessions assume a high level of pre-existing knowledge and are designed for the experienced HR professional who wants to refine and expand his or her expertise in these areas.
Conference Schedule
Pre-Conference Workshops
The Speakers
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HRCI and MCLE Credits
Register Now for the 2009 Event
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