Common Employer Defenses to Harassment Claims
At Sherman Law Corporation, Attorney Lisa Sherman is familiar with a number of common employer defenses to harassment claims raised in response to unlawful harassment claims. These include: Statute of...
View ArticleWhen Someone Else’s Bias Becomes the Employer’s Problem
A decisionmaker’s ignorance of an employee’s complaint does not shield the employer from a retaliation claim if someone else in the chain (like a supervisor, an investigator, or a recommender) knew...
View ArticleWhy California’s Anti-Harassment Law Is Tougher on Employers Than Federal Law
California does not allow the Faragher-Ellerth defense that employers can use under federal law to escape liability for supervisor harassment. Under FEHA, an employer is strictly liable for a...
View ArticleCalifornia EFAA Arbitration: How Doe v. Second Street Corp Changed the Rules
Since Sherman Law Corporation and Schein Law Group published the landmark decision in Doe v. Second Street Corp. in September 2024, every California appellate court that has considered the EFAA has...
View ArticleDismissing Employment-Related Lawsuits in California
We are often asked how a Defendant can quickly seek dismissal of a civil employment-related lawsuit filed in superior court of California. The California Court Backlog First of all, the California...
View ArticleWhat You Don’t Know About Employment Termination Letters
Should an employer provide an employee a written letter setting forth the reasons for termination? You are not going to like the answer… It depends. If an employee signed an employment agreement...
View ArticleIs a Company Legally Responsible to Pay for the Defense of Accused Named in...
Navigating the complexities of sexual harassment claims in the workplace is challenging for both employees and employers. In California, companies must be vigilant in addressing and managing these...
View ArticleDefending Restaurant Against Sexual Harassment Lawsuit in California
In the restaurant industry, businesses often grapple with complex challenges, including allegations of sexual harassment, which can severely damage a company’s reputation, lead to financial penalties,...
View ArticleEmployment Retaliation Claims in California and Best Ways to Avoid Them
Employment retaliation claims can arise under a variety of California laws, posing significant challenges for employers. At Sherman Law Corporation, we understand that employment disputes can...
View ArticlePregnancy-Related Discrimination, Harassment, and Wrongful Termination Claims...
So your full-time office manager who works in the office 5 days per week, an essential function of her job, has announced her pregnancy and the employer could not be more supportive of her. The...
View ArticleRetaliation in the Workplace: What is Temporal Proximity?
Workers are encouraged to assert their legal rights without facing unlawful retaliation from their employers. Retaliation occurs when an employee faces an adverse employment action because he or she...
View ArticleCalifornia Employer Prevails on Pregnancy Disability Leave and Fair...
The California Court of Appeals in Lopez v. La Casa las Madres held that both the Pregnancy Disability Leave (“PDL”) law and Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) require that a plaintiff prove...
View ArticleCalifornia Arbitration Agreements Not Signed by Employer Are Not Enforceable
The California Court of Appeals in Ortiz v. Nellson Nutraceutical, Calif. Ct. App., No. G061411 (Aug. 23, 2023), recently held that where an arbitration agreement contained signature blocks for both...
View ArticleCalifornia Employers Must Rid of Non Competes by Jan 1, 2024
Employers who require employees to sign noncompetition agreements or other restrictive covenants or seek to enforce the agreements — even when employees enter into the agreements outside California in...
View ArticleEmployers must Accommodate an Employees’ Religious Beliefs
– Unless Doing So Would “Result in Substantial Increased Costs in Relation to Conduct of Business” The question of religious beliefs in a place of business has been in debate for some time, and a...
View ArticleEnding Forced Arbitration to Victims of Sexual Assault and Harassment
On March 3, 2022 President Biden signed into law the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.” This federal law ends forced arbitration in workplace sexual assault and...
View ArticleCalifornia Employers Liable for Whistleblower Retaliation
California Employers Liable for Whistleblower Retaliation (Even if the Subject Matter of the Complaint was Previously Known to the Employer) The California Supreme Court has expanded whistleblower...
View ArticleCalifornia Employers are Not Liable for COVID Spread to Family Members
The Supreme Court of California and now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have held that a California employer owes no duty of care under state law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to...
View ArticleReimbursement of Work From Home Expenses Incurred During the Pandemic
In Thai v. International Business Machines Corporation, the California Court of Appeal held that IBM was required to reimburse its employees for Internet access and other computer-related expenses...
View ArticleFirst Come First Serve Grants to Small to Medium Size California Employer for...
Small to medium sized California employers who employed between 26 and 49 employees between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022 and non-profits that paid Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in 2022 may...
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