Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

Google employees will no longer be prevented from taking part in class-action lawsuits or suing the company over matters such as wrongful termination and discrimination. The California-based company announced that it was relaxing its mandatory arbitration rules in a Feb. 21 press release. The move marks the second time the it has relaxed its rules regarding workplace claims in recent months. In November, Google waived its mandatory arbitration requirement for assault and sexual harassment claims after 20,000 of its employees walked out in protest.

Employers prefer arbitration because it does not involve an unpredictable jury, is less expensive than litigation and allows them to keep potentially embarrassing allegations private. The protesting workers questioned the impartiality of arbitrators paid for by Google and claimed that the secrecy shrouding the process encouraged and enabled abusive managers and sexual harassers. They walked out after learning that a senior executive accused of sexual harassment had been offered a $90 million exit package by the company.

In California, a severance agreement must meet many requirements in order to be enforceable. For example, this kind of contract between an employer and a departing employee cannot include a noncompete agreement.

Furthermore, an employer must comply with special severance agreement requirements that only pertain to employees age 40 and older.

It's no secret that some employers in California and elsewhere across the country fail to provide adequate accommodations for breastfeeding. When this happens, nursing employees often face potential health risks and other challenges. According to a new study focusing on this topic, two-thirds of breastfeeding discrimination cases over the past decade resulted in employees alleging this type of discrimination being terminated.

Breastfeeding is a type of employment discrimination that can involve many different issues. For example, some employers may deny break requests for nursing employees when they are leaking milk or experiencing pain. Discrimination of this nature may also involve not providing privacy so that nursing workers can pump breast milk, co-worker comments on breasts, or firing employees who ask for breaks to breastfeed. Legally, employers are supposed to provide sufficient breaks for pumping, a clean place to do this and temporary job reassignment when necessary. Discriminatory consequences sometimes result in nursing mothers weaning earlier than what's normally recommended. There's also the possibility of infections or a diminished milk supply.

In 2000, individuals over the age of 65 made up about 12 percent of the United States population. By 2050, it is expected that roughly 22 percent of those living in California and throughout America will be over the age of 65. Therefore, it may be necessary for individuals to spend additional years in the workforce. However, most people still prefer to start collecting Social Security benefits at age 62.

This may be in part because of age discrimination. According to one study of 2,000 adults over 50, more than half left their jobs for reasons such as their companies close or an unexpected retirement. Another study found that 39 percent of individuals who retired in 2014 were forced to do so. The data suggests that older workers are being pushed aside in favor of younger employees. This can have negative impacts on a person's long-term finances as well as on an individual's physical and mental health.