California Employment Law Explained: Policy and Practice Essentials for HR

California Employment Law Explained Boot Camp Recording

Employers operating in California must comply with laws far more employee-friendly than those elsewhere. New regulations covering meal and rest breaks, same-sex marriage, harassment training, GINA, healthcare coverage, and other legal obligations can force changes to your policies and alter the workplace landscape.

And while most states simply follow the language found in major federal employment laws, California’s legislature routinely passes its own version -- with crucial differences that can trip up multistate employers if they aren’t up to date on their requirements.

That's why it's absolutely crucial for employers doing business in California to take the necessary steps to stay in compliance.

Participate in this interactive, extended webinar, and you'll learn:

• Steps you should take when terminating workers in California to reduce your legal risks in areas such as waiting-time penalties and final paycheck deductions
• How California treats PTO and vacation time
• The daily overtime limits you must comply with in California
• Why the state’s mandatory interactive process rules pose big challenges for multistate employers dealing with disability claims
• California rules that protect employee privacy, from workplace monitoring restrictions to safeguards for workers’ lawful off-premises, off-duty conduct, crucial HR guidance in the Facebook and Twitter age
• How to protect your organization against the laundry list of workplace policy requirements in California that you won’t find elsewhere
• And much, much more

Boot Camp Schedule 
(All times below are Eastern – please adjust for your time zone.)

Session 1: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Hiring, Disciplining, and Terminating Employees

• How to avoid the most common pitfalls in hiring California-based employees, from the unauthorized use of background checks to the creation of unintended contractual obligations with new hires
• Steps you should take when terminating workers in California to reduce your legal risks in areas such as waiting-time penalties and final paycheck deductions
• How to comply with the state’s unique standards and rulings restricting the use of noncompete agreements, mandatory arbitration clauses, and other employment contract language used routinely in many other states

Session 2: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
Employee Leaves and Absences

In this session, you'll learn how to:.

• Ways in which California’s employee leave laws differ significantly from federal guidelines, from pregnancy-related disabilities to specific types of non-medical leave
• How to re-tool your nationwide leave policies and PTO systems so they’ll pass muster in California
• How California treats PTO and vacation time

Break: 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m 

Session 3: 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. 
Wage and Hour Issues

• How to interpret California’s rules for classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt -- and why they’re so different from the federal rules that apply in almost every other state
• The daily overtime limits you must comply with in California
• What policies and practices you should implement to satisfy California’s onerous and confusing rules governing mandatory meal periods and rest breaks
• How to avoid mistakes when using independent contractors and other contingent workers in California

Break: 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. 

Session 4: 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 
Discrimination and Disability

• Additional protected categories provided by California law, including sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, and more
• Why the state’s mandatory interactive process rules pose big challenges for multistate employers dealing with disability claims
• How to avoid harassment and retaliation complaints under the state’s expansive guidelines
• The specific California anti-bias rules you must follow that don’t exist in many other states, such as the right of women to wear pants on the job and the ban on English-only rules in the workplace

Session 5: 3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. 
Special Issues

• The numerous California statutes and rules that protect employee privacy, from workplace monitoring restrictions to safeguards for workers’ lawful off-premises, off-duty conduct
• Why the Private Attorneys General Act poses serious threats to
• How you should comply with the state’s regulations giving employees access to inspect and copy their personnel records
• What you must do to protect your organization against a laundry list of other workplace issues in California that you won’t find in most other states

California Employment Law Explained: Policy and Practice Essentials for HR

About Your Speakers:

Attorney Mark I. Schickman is a partner at Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco. He concentrates on employment and labor law, litigating every type of employment matter and providing advice in avoiding liability for discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, union-related charges, and all other aspects of the employment relationship.

Attorney Cathleen S. Yonahara, assistant editor of the California Employment Law Letter, is an associate at Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco. She represents and advises clients in all areas of labor and employment law, including Title VII, the ADA, ADEA, FEHA, FMLA, CFRA, and the California Labor Code. She appears in state and federal court and before government agencies, including the EEOC, DFEH, the California Labor Commissioner, and other agencies.