Employment Discrimination Against Medical Marijuana Users is Legal in California
Published by James Peters January 24th, 2008 in Discrimination, Policy : Opinion, Privacy IssuesWell, the California Supreme Court finally released its opinion in Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc., S138130, today and I have to say I am disappointed with the opinion, although I think the dissenting opinion was completely on the mark.
The Decision
The Court decided that employers can terminate employees in California who use medical marijuana with a [...]
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Employers Must At Least TRY To Accommodate Disabled Employees
Published by James Peters January 15th, 2008 in DiscriminationIn the United States, employers must actively engage in an “interactive process” with disabled employees to try and find a “reasonable accommodation” for their disability, even if no such accommodation actually exists.
What is an “Interactive Process”?
What this means is if an employer knows one of their employees is disabled and they suspect that employee might [...]
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Sometimes the "Decider" is Wrong
Published by James Peters January 12th, 2008 in Discrimination, Harassment, Policy : OpinionLet me first say that I rarely disagree with decisions by California state or federal appellate courts (at least those I am not personally involved in and therefore biased towards). However, I occasionally come across a case where I just think the court got it wrong.
In Mokler v. County of Orange, et.al. (Cal.App.Dist.4 11/26/2007), No. [...]
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NEVER E-mail Your Attorney From Work!
Published by James Peters November 12th, 2007 in Privacy IssuesSometimes employees use their employer’s e-mail address or computer to contact us. This is understandable, especially for long-term employees who spend most of their waking time at work or using a company-issued computer at home.
The problem is that using an employer’s computer or e-mail address to communicate with your attorney might mean these communications [...]
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CA Supreme Court Considers Employees’ Medical Marijuana Use
Published by James Peters November 7th, 2007 in Discrimination, Policy : Opinion, Privacy Issues, Wrongful TerminationYesterday the California Supreme Court heard arguments in Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc.
In this case, the employee was refused employment because his pre-employment drug test came back positive for marijuana. The employee had been using medical marijuana at the direction of his physician to deal with lower back strain and muscle spasms.
Case Background
Under [...]
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Claims Adjusters and Others Likely Non-Exempt in California
Published by James Peters January 14th, 2007 in Wages : OvertimeDefense attorneys for large corporations in California have been trumpeting the case of In re Farmers Ins. Exch., 466 F.3d 853 (9th Cir. 2006) for the proposition that insurance claims adjusters are now exempt employees who are not entitled to overtime pay. However, this is not true when it comes to employees in California.
Case [...]
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Q&A: Employee Witnesses Protected from Retaliation
Published by James Peters January 14th, 2007 in Discrimination, Q&A, Retaliation, Wrongful TerminationQ: One of my co-workers has asked me to testify for in her discrimination case against our employer. I want to help, but I am afraid that my employer will retaliate against me if I help her.
–Want to Help But Scared (CA)
A: Both state and federal discrimination laws prohibit retaliation by employers [...]
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Q&A: Electronic Surveillance at Work Often Illegal
Published by James Peters January 12th, 2007 in Privacy Issues, Q&AQ: There are rumors circulating at work that our boss is spying on employees with video surveillance. Is that legal?
–Private Eyes are Watching Me (CA)
A: The answer to your question is: it depends. Whether or not video surveillance at work is illegal depends largely upon the facts in a given situation. [...]
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