California Workplace & Employment Law Blog

One of the main areas where I see employers botch their legal duties to their employees (and thereby potentially invite lawsuits) arises with employees who request disability leaves. There are different laws that provide for disability-related leave, such as the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the analogous California Family Rights Act (CFRA) (both of which apply only to employers with 50 or more employees), as well as California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave law. But the most common type of leave requested is disability leave under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Employment agreements should be used sparingly by employers, otherwise you may find it difficult to terminate the employee who signed the agreement or to change the terms of their compensation or benefits, and you may open yourself up to breach of contract claims.

Last week, the California Supreme Court issued a sweeping decision adopting a new test that will make it much harder for companies to show that workers qualify as independent contractors instead of employees.  The ruling affects all companies in California that work with independent contractors, which includes freelance workers and outside consultants. The Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles may end up requiring companies that work with independent contractors to follow wage and hour laws that apply in the typical employer-employee relationship.