“He’s a Regular. Just Deal With It.”
“He’s a regular. Just deal with it.” That is what her shift manager said. The customer had been coming in for two years. He always asked for her section. He commented on her body, her hair, what she was wearing…
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You Were Not Fired, So You Think You Do Not Have a Case
You were not fired. The work was just harder to do every day. The schedule got reshuffled in ways that targeted you and only you. The meetings you used to be in stopped including you. The performance review that was…
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Your Role Was Cut and They Told You It Was AI
Your role was cut and they told you it was AI. The announcement mentioned efficiency, transformation, restructuring around new technology. You walked out with severance papers and a story that sounded clean from the outside. Then you started asking yourself…
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AI Bias Audits and Validation Studies Are Not the Same Thing
Belief: a vendor’s assurance that an AI hiring tool is “bias-free” or “compliant” covers both fairness and legality. A vendor assurance is a marketing statement. Two distinct compliance frameworks apply to AI tools used in employment decisions, and an employer…
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When Work Harassment Follows You Off the Clock
A message from a coworker landed on your phone after hours and the tone was off. A Slack thread crossed a line you could not unsee. A conference trip had a moment in a hotel hallway that you keep replaying….
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Third-Party Harassment: Customer Behavior Is Your Problem
Belief: harassment by customers, vendors, or other non-employees is not the employer’s exposure because the employer does not control the harasser. FEHA liability for third-party harassment turns on response, not control. The standard is whether the employer knew or should…
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Heat Illness: A Plan On File Is Not a Plan In Practice
Belief: California’s heat illness rules are satisfied by having a written plan on file. The plan is the starting point, not the finish line. Cal/OSHA’s outdoor heat illness standard (Title 8, §3395) and the newer indoor standard (Title 8, §3396,…
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“It Is Just a Tuition Perk”: Why §127 and AB 692 Now Have to Be Read Together
“It is just a tuition perk; we are fine” is what an owner says about an educational-assistance program that is operating outside §127’s structure. Internal Revenue Code §127 lets an employer exclude up to $5,250 per year in qualified educational…
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Productivity Monitoring as the Basis for Discipline: “The System Flagged Him” Is Not a Defense
“We told them about it in the handbook” is the line that does the least work in the lawsuit. Productivity monitoring software — keystroke logging, screen capture at intervals, idle-time scoring, application-use tracking — has moved into small-business operations. A…
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California AB 692 limits employee clawback agreements involving bonuses, training costs, relocation expenses, and repayment obligations.
“The arbitration agreement they signed with the staffing agency covers us” is the assumption that just got tested in California’s First District — and lost. In Toothman v. Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, Inc., filed May 5, 2026 and certified for publication,…