“I complained about my coworker’s harassment years ago,” a client once told me. “When I finally got fired, I figured it had to be connected.” It felt connected. It wasn’t legally connected, because what got her fired was something she…
Some employers treat an AI-assisted screening tool as a neutral filter, a way to remove human bias from hiring decisions rather than add to it. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA, Gov. Code § 12940(a)) doesn’t distinguish between a…
“I filed a wage complaint in March. By May, my schedule had quietly shrunk from thirty-two hours a week to eighteen.” Nobody said the two were connected. Nobody had to. California protects employees who report suspected legal violations — to…
You used a vacation day for your kid’s school conference, and it did not occur to you that you might not have needed to. Or you skipped it, because asking felt like it would cost you something with your manager….
You posted an opinion about a story that was dividing the country, and it never crossed your mind that your job was the thing on the line. Then Monday came, and your manager wanted to talk before you had even…
Many California employers assume that if federal labor enforcement backs away from scrutinizing confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in separation agreements, the pressure on those clauses eases across the board. It does not, and treating it as though it does is…
Many employees assume the legal system will uncover what really happened at work. In California employment disputes, that is not how it works. Cases are proof contests. The story is built from what was documented at the time, not from…
When workplaces get tense, employers sometimes try to restore order by policing language. Banning phrases, disciplining “tone,” or enforcing broad civility rules can seem like a straightforward management response. In California, that approach often creates more risk than it removes. …
You signed a severance agreement. It had a non-disparagement clause. The language said you could not say, write, or do anything to disparage or defame the company – to anyone. You were told this was standard. I see this pattern…
You have started the letter to your employer three times this week. The one that lays out everything they owe you and everything they did. Each draft comes out angrier. Then you delete it. That instinct to put it in…
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