The legal landscape surrounding religious accommodations and religious discrimination and harassment in the workplace has shifted in recent years.
Global Developments In Labor & Employment Law
Ellen M. Bandel is a member of the Labor and Employment practice, advising unionized and union-free employers on all aspects of labor and employment law. Specifically, Ellen counsels employers on a range of workplace issues including recruitment; development of handbooks and employment policies; employee performance and discipline; administering paid and unpaid time off policies and leaves of absence; compliance with wage and hour and disability accommodation laws; proper handling of employee complaints; workplace audits and investigations; workforce reductions; and mitigating risk associated with employee terminations. Ellen has wide-ranging experience advising employers on compliance with employment legislation “trending” at the state and local level, including paid sick leave laws, legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, pre-employment restrictions relating to use of criminal history or prior salary information, predictable work schedule requirements, and paid medical leaves.
Ellen also represents clients in federal, state, and local administrative proceedings. Additionally, she assists government contractors subject to requirements of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) with the design and implementation of affirmative action programs and navigating the compliance review process.
The legal landscape surrounding religious accommodations and religious discrimination and harassment in the workplace has shifted in recent years.…
When an employee’s on-the-job injury affects their ability to perform essential job functions, federal and state law require, among other things, that an employer engage in an “interactive process” to…
Continue Reading A Breath of Fresh Air for Employers Managing Extended Medical Leaves
This November, California voters were expecting to vote on a measure that would replace the current Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) statute with the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability…
Continue Reading Gov. Newsom Announces Landmark Private Attorneys General Act Reforms
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, under the recently signed Senate Bill 848 (S.B. 848), covered California employers must provide eligible employees with a job-protected leave of absence following a reproductive loss. This…
Continue Reading California Employers Must Provide Reproductive Loss Leave Starting Jan. 1, 2024
On Oct. 4, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill No. 616 (SB 616). Effective Jan. 1, 2024, SB 616 expands the existing paid sick leave entitlements…
Continue Reading California Expands Paid Sick Leave Entitlements, Effective Jan. 1, 2024
The city of Los Angeles’s recently passed Fair Workweek Ordinance (the Ordinance) takes effect April 1, 2023. The ordinance aims to ensure Los Angeles retail employees have more predictable work…
Continue Reading Los Angeles Retail Employers: New Fair Workweek Obligations Take Effect April 1. Are They Fair?
The past few years have seen increased scrutiny of practices and agreements (and employers that use them) that are viewed by some as anti-competitive, including no-poach agreements and non-solicitation agreements.
Continue Reading Take Care With No-Poach Practices and Non-Solicitation Agreements
On March 19, 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 95 into law, once again requiring employers to provide California employees with paid sick leave in connection with COVID-19. Under SB…
Continue Reading Statewide COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Returns to California
As the dust settles on the tumultuous journey of the final 2020 COVID-19 relief package, it is now clear that as employers with fewer than 500 employees move into 2021,…
Continue Reading FFCRA Leaves Sunset, But Employer Obligations and Considerations Continue
With many Americans counting down the days until 2020 is over, 2021 will not be a cakewalk for employers, particularly in California. This is in part due to the passage
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Continue Reading There’s A New Leave Law in Town (Sort of)