EdLawConnect Blog

As the #MeToo Movement placed a glaring spotlight on the continuing problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, outgoing California Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills aimed at curbing harassment. All of them impact California employers, both public and private.

On November 22, 2016, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas halted implementation the Department of Labor’s rule amending the salary basis test for overtime exemptions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule was scheduled to take effect December 1, 2016.  (Nevada v. DOL (E.D.Tex. 11/22/16) No. 4:16-cv-00731.) The court granted a preliminary injunction, which temporarily delays the ...

California’s public educational entities need to be aware of changes to federal law that will become effective on December 1, 2016.  The U.S. Department of Labor will be publishing its official Final Rule on May 23, 2016, updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) regulations regarding the executive, administrative and professional exemptions from overtime and minimum-wage requirements.

On July 16, 2015, Governor Brown approved an amendment to Government Code section 12940 prohibiting an employer or other covered entity from retaliating, or otherwise discriminating, against a person for requesting accommodation of his or her disability or religious beliefs, regardless of whether the accommodation request was granted.

The legislation stems from the Court of Appeal’s decision in Rope ...

Have you ever had a request from a teacher to express milk during the school day?  The percentage of mothers breastfeeding is on the rise in the United States, meaning the likelihood of receiving such a request is likely to increase.  District employees, including teachers, are entitled to break time to express their breast milk pursuant to Labor Code section 1030.  Such breaks, however, may be unpaid if they exceed the number of paid breaks which the teacher may otherwise be entitled to receive under the law or pursuant to the teachers’ collective bargaining agreement.

Recently the U.S. Supreme Court found that the exemptions for warrantless searches of arrestees for weapons or evidence, justified by the need for officer safety and to prevent destruction of evidence, did not apply to searching electronic data on a cell phone.  The Court unanimously ruled that the police need warrants to search cellphones of people they arrest.  The court heard arguments in two cases and ...

In the landmark case of Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the United States Supreme Court held that a state may not deny access to a basic, free public education to a child because that child is undocumented.  In addition, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title 42, United States Code, section 2000d) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and the implementing regulations ...

On February 26, 2014, the California Supreme Court granted a petition to review the recent Court of Appeal decision of Poole v. Orange County Fire Authority (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 155.

In Poole, a firefighter relying on the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights Act convinced a California Court of Appeal to order an employer to strike daily logs of a firefighter’s poor performance that were maintained by ...

State Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), with the support of the California School Boards Association (“CSBA”), has drafted a bill that would streamline the teacher dismissal process and specify additional types of conduct that can be charged by school districts. Senate Bill 843 would also make teacher dismissal procedures fairer for school districts, make it easier to remove teachers charged with ...

Imagine the unpleasant surprise one superintendent got recently when he received a warning letter from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for failing to report that a teacher had been let go following allegations that she had pulled a child’s ear. Of course, most school administrators are aware that Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 80303, requires notification to the CTC whenever a certificated employee’s employment status changes as a result of allegations of misconduct. But here, the employee was a substitute teacher. And the superintendent knew nothing about the decision not to use the substitute in the future.