Pregnancy can be a wonderful and exciting chapter in your life, but it can also bring many new worries, especially if you are experiencing a difficult pregnancy. If you are a pregnant employee in California, you have certain rights and protections under California law, including the right to reasonable accommodations stemming from your pregnancy or childbirth.
Google employees protest company's handling of sexual harassment
Google employees all over the world walked out of work in protest over the way the company handles sexual misconduct. A New York Times report revealing that high-level Google employees accused of sexual misconduct kept their jobs or giving multi-million dollar severance packages sparked outrage, leading protests at Google offices worldwide.
These employees joined the ranks of people worldwide standing up and saying "enough is enough" when it comes to how corporations handle sexual harassment allegations.
A company reorg is no excuse to fire certain groups of employees
Reorganizations are a reality for many businesses. Companies may choose to restructure to improve efficiency, decrease costs, and protect the business' bottom line.
When a company goes through a reorg, layoffs are generally expected.
2 types of discrimination that have nothing to do with race
When most people think of discrimination, they immediately think of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the fight against racial discrimination of all forms. However, the civil rights movement of the 1960s benefited many other categories of people and employees - in addition to minority racial groups - when it comes to anti-workplace discrimination law.
Here are five types of unlawful workplace discrimination that don't have anything to do with race:
Whistleblower protections and retaliation
By virtue of the Dodd-Frank Act, employers cannot retaliate against people classified as "whistleblowers." In other words, if you made statements about the wrongful actions that are happening in your workplace, you might qualify for protection under federal law. This protection would serve to prevent you from losing your job and/or suffering other adverse actions as a result of your divulgence of information about legal violations or immoral conduct committed by and/or sanctioned by your employer.
An employee with whistleblower status may even have the right to ignore any confidentiality agreement that applies to his or her employment in the name of reporting the abuses of his or her employer. Federal whistleblower protections protect employees from employers who attempt to enforce a confidentiality agreement or arbitration clause in an employment contract.
Beware of these sexual harassment myths
One reason that sexual harassment is still common in the workplace is that people do not always fully understand what it is or how it works. A lot of myths tend to prevail and people may not understand how serious their actions are.
It is important for employees who are being harassed to know what these myths are and to understand that they are just that: myths.
New California law prevents secret sexual harassment settlements
A new piece of sexual harassment legislation has become law in California. The new measure prevents employers from requiring victims of sexual harassment to sign a nondisclosure agreement when they settle their cases. The measure will prevent numerous abuses that happen at workplaces throughout the state, and end up going unnoticed by the public eye as a result of secret settlements.
The new law, SB820, will prevent secret settlements in discrimination and assault cases, in addition to instances of sexual harassment, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure into law last Sunday.
What does "quid pro quo" mean?
"Quid pro quo" is a legal term that courts and lawyers use in the context of sexual harassment. In Latin, quid pro quo means "something for something." As such, a quid pro quo sexual harassment situation at work involves a co-worker or manager offering someone something in exchange for a sexual favor, sexual act or going on a date.
The so-called "offer" does not have to be over in order for it to qualify as quid pro quo. A manager only has to hint that the employee is going to receive something in exchange for following through with his or her sexual request. Or, the manager only needs to hint that what he or she wants is a sexual favor.
What action can I take after being fired when pregnant?
More women than ever are maintaining successful careers while starting families, and many have no choice but to work during pregnancy and as a new mother.
During this time, women can face challenges in being treated equally and being given the respect that they deserve in the workplace. All pregnant women have the legal right to be treated fairly and their pregnancy can never be a reason for hostile treatment or firings.
Does Facebook help employers commit gender bias while hiring?
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union have initiated a lawsuit against Facebook and other defendants because of the Facebook platform's ability to target only men for job opportunities. According to the ACLU suit, which included ten employers, the defendants have used Facebook to single out men for specific job campaigns, which is a violation of employment discrimination laws.
The federal law at the center of the suit is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under this law, a business cannot take out paid job vacancy ads that specifically target one gender. Facebook may also be culpable for its role in facilitating discriminatory advertising campaigns.
