Posts for Employees

What Can Employers Ask Applicants and Employees?

January 28, 2019 | Davis & Wojcik

California law prohibits discrimination against job applicants and employees on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, mental and physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), medical conditions (such as cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), and military and veteran status.

In order to avoid the appearance of discrimination, employers should limit requests for information during the pre-employment process to those details essential to determining a person’s qualifications to do the job. The following are some general guidelines that employers and employees should know regarding the employment application process.

NAME: An employer should never ask questions about an individual’s name that require the applicant to disclose ancestry, national origin, race, religion or marital status, (i.e., asking for an applicant’s “maiden” name, or asking questions about the origin of a name, rather than simply asking if other names have been used). However, it is acceptable to ask an applicant’s name or previous name for purposes of checking their past work record.

“Old Man Take a Look at My Life” – Age Discrimination in California

November 2, 2018 | Davis & Wojcik

In 1970, after finding early success as a musician, a twenty-five-year-old Neil Young purchased the Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California. As part of the purchase, Mr. Young inherited two elderly employees, Louis Avila and his wife Clara, who lived on the ranch as caretakers. A fond relationship developed, and Mr. Young eventually wrote the song “Old Man” as a tribute to Mr. Avila. The lyrics of the song compare two men born decades apart by musing, “Old man, look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.”

Forty-eight years later, baby boomers who enjoyed this folk-rock tune are now finding themselves in situations more akin to Mr. Availa than Neil Young and are now the employees of younger owners and managers. Unfortunately, many of these employees are not inspiring soulful ballads. Instead, they are being treated poorly or forced out after years of dedicated employment.

Age Discrimination

The Basics of Wrongful Termination

October 10, 2018 | Davis & Wojcik

If you have been recently fired, you have come to the right place. Being fired is a terrible experience. Not only does it take away your livelihood, but it is often unfair and unjustified. But just because the termination is unfair, it does not mean it is unlawful.

I meet with recently terminated employees on a daily basis and they all want to know if they have a case for wrongful termination. Unfortunately, most of the time, I must tell them that they do not. This blog post explains the basics of wrongful termination.

“At-Will” Employment