On May 14, 2019, we posted an article entitled What is a Skelly Hearing? Created by the California Supreme Court in the landmark decision, Skelly v. Supreme Court, in 1975, public employees have long enjoyed the right to a “pre-deprivation” hearing before suffering discipline impacting their civil service position. This Read more…
A Skelly hearing derives its name from Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal. 3d 194. Dr. Skelly, a permanent civil service employee, was terminated from his employment with the State of California. The California Supreme Court determined, among other things, that he was deprived of his due process Read more…
Workplace investigations, if not handled properly, can snowball into larger lawsuits. These lawsuits can come in two forms – from the employee who complained of inappropriate workplace conduct or from an employee accused of workplace conduct. When an allegation of workplace misconduct occurs, the employer is responsible for investigating the Read more…
Workplace investigations can be intimidating. It typically means someone has raised a complaint and as a company, you are responsible for responding to that complaint. The first step, however, is to investigate the complaint. You, as a company, have a responsibility to ensure a fair, thorough investigation to get to Read more…
California Labor Code, section 511 (as amended in 2009) and most of the current Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) orders provide for alternative workweek schedules. An alternative workweek schedule (AWS) means any regularly scheduled workweek requiring an employee to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period. An alternative work Read more…
On October 15, 2017, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 396 into law. The Transgender Work Opportunity Act makes California the first state in the nation to require training about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Presently, California employers with 50 or more employees currently must provide two hours of sexual Read more…
On Wednesday, September 27, Steve Simas is providing training for members of the Civil Service Commission for the County of San Luis Obispo. The training is being held at 1055 Monterey Street, Suite D-250, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 and is to run from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. The Civil Service Read more…
On Thursday, September 28, President and Founder of Simas & Associates, Ltd., Steven L. Simas, will be attending and given a "Soap Box" moment at this month's Good Morning SLO. Good Morning SLO is a dynamic and informative 90-minute breakfast program specifically geared to San Luis Obispo business people. Held on Read more…
Congratulations to Justin D. Hein on his selection to the 2017 Northern California Rising Stars list! Every year, Super Lawyers selects attorneys who exhibit excellence in the practice of law to either a Super Lawyers or Rising Stars list in each state using a patented selection process. Mr. Hein was selected to Read more…
Teleworking can be a reasonable accommodation for an injury or disability. However, it is not mandated. And just because it is the preferred solution for the employee, does not obligate the employer to provide it. Nevertheless, if it is the ONLY solution that will permit you to come back and Read more…