Employment Law Blog
Words Matter: Inherent Bias and Employment Discrimination
If the events of the past few weeks have shown us anything, it's that - like Black lives - words matter. Both spoken and in writing, the language we use has the power to inspire, offend, unite, and divide. Sometimes, the use of seemingly harmless words, or even the...
Supreme Court Decisions Provide a Glimmer of Hope for Racial Justice
The current chaos in our lives includes a pandemic that has put over twenty million people out of work and the seemingly unceasing killing of Black people by police. But last week, we saw glimmers of hope for a better future. On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the U.S....
“Dreamers” Fight Against Discrimination Continues Following Supreme Court DACA Ruling
In a significant victory for immigrants' rights, the U.S Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration's attempt to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Court's surprising 5-4 decision found the administration failed to provide...
In the Wake of Racial Injustice, Employees and Employers Are Checking Each Other
As conversation surrounding racial justice grows nationwide, candid discussions regarding race are coming to a head in the workplace, where employers and employees are pushing one another to be on the right side of the conversation. While the national conversation is...
California Law Protects Workers From Termination or Retaliation for Participating in Black Lives Matter or Other Political Protests
The massive protests following the murder of George Floyd have brought together people of all races, ages, and walks of life in a collective movement to address systemic racism and police brutality against Black people. Outten & Golden is profoundly committed to...
The Criminality Myth That Furthers Employment Inequality and Devalues Black Lives
Ban the Box legislation can be an important tool in remedying Black underemployment by removing employers' ability to use criminal history as a proxy for discrimination. However, it only attacks a symptom of the problem created by America's racist history, the...
How Videoconferencing Has Become Part of the “New Normal” in the Practice of Law
The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide crisis of epic proportions. It has created enormous challenges, some of which are apparent, such as health and economic impacts that are without equal in our lifetimes. More challenges undoubtedly await us, some of which we may not...
California Workplaces Open in Stages, Raising New Questions for Employees
While the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to pose a health risk across the U.S., Governor Gavin Newsom plans to reopen the California economy in four stages under the "Resilience Roadmap." But as businesses resume operations, how will employees be protected and protect...
Reopening the Workplace: A Gender Perspective on the Economic Fallout of COVID-19
The COVID-19 coronavirus doesn't discriminate between men and women, but the same can't be said of the pandemic's impact on the U.S. workforce. Traditional support for women at work has been drastically reduced, if not eliminated, during the crisis. Women have had to...
Bring ‘Em All Back? – Knowing Your Rights in the “New Normal”
As state and local economies reopen, employers across the country are cautiously welcoming employees back to their jobs, fearing a resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak. For returning workers, the workplace will be different from before, including the extent to which...
