The ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) expanded more than just employer liability for disability claims; it also broadened the scope of FMLA leave that employees may take to care for their adult children. On January 14, 2013, the Department of Labor clarified that the age of the onset of a disability is irrelevant to determining whether an individual is considered a “son or daughter” under the FMLA. See Dept. of Labor Wage and Hour Div., Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2013-1. Read More
Lauri Damrell, a senior associate in the Sacramento office, is a member of the Employment Law Group. Her practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling. She has experience in all phases of single-plaintiff and class action litigation involving a variety of employment issues, including claims regarding wage-and-hour laws, independent contractors, exempt/non-exempt classifications, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and other employment regulations.
Ms Damrell has played a key role in defending several national and international corporations in putative class and collective actions and recently defeated class certification for a Fortune 200 company against one of the country’s leading class action plaintiffs’ counsel. She also has experience representing clients before the EEOC, OFCCP, U.S. Dept. of Labor, IRS, and various state agencies.
Ms. Damrell frequently publishes articles on topics relevant to wage-and-hour issues and diversity in the workforce and recently spoke on a panel at the U.S. Capitol providing her legal expertise on the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Ms. Damrell is an active member of the ABA Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is also a co-founder of the Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Sacramento (MAMAS).
Lauri Damrell
Posts by Lauri A. Damrell
California Supreme Court Allows See’s Candy Time Rounding Decision to Stand
Earlier last month, the California Supreme Court denied petitions to review and depublish the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District’s decision in See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court, 210 Cal. App. 4th 889 (2012), a case of first impression on whether an employer can round an employee’s clocked time under California law. As a result, the Court of Appeal’s decision on the topic of employers’ rounding of employee time entries remains the law of the land in California.
On October 29, 2012, the California Court of Appeal confirmed that California law—like federal law—permits an employer to implement a policy rounding its employees’ recorded time so long as the policy is neutrally applied and does not systematically under-compensate employees for time worked.
The plaintiff in See’s Candy hoped to blunt this helpful precedent by asking the California Supreme Court to depublish the Court of Appeal’s ruling. However, thanks to the Supreme Court’s denial of the plaintiff’s petitions, employers and courts may continue to look to See’s Candy for guidance in the implementation of their timekeeping policies.
EEOC’s Plan May Mean Narrower, More Aggressive Oversight
As we currently reported on our January 9 blog, on Dec. 17, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its strategic enforcement plan (SEP). The SEP resulted from the broader strategic plan unveiled by the EEOC earlier this year, outlining the commission’s activities for 2012-2016. The SEP confirms that combating systemic discrimination will be one of the EEOC’s primary objectives. Read Orrick’s “EEOC’s Plan May Mean Narrower, More Aggressive Oversight” on Law360.
EEOC Releases Its Strategic Enforcement Plan
On December 17, 2012, the EEOC released its Strategic Enforcement Plan. As previously reported, the EEOC released the draft SEP for public comment on September 4, 2012, with a plan to vote on and implement it by October 1. The more than two month delay suggests that the Commission reviewed the more than 100 comments to the draft and may have also been internally conflicted over portions of the draft (the Commission’s final vote was 3-1). Read More
Ringing in the New Year: New California Laws Taking Effect in 2013
As the new year rounds the corner, it is important to stay abreast of the ever-changing legal landscape in California. We’ve previously posted about some recent amendments to the California Labor Code here but here are a couple of others that take effect on January 1, 2013 that employers should keep on their radars. Read More
EEOC Delays Release of Strategic Enforcement Plan, Suggesting Revisions to Draft Plan Likely
On September 4, 2012, the EEOC released for comment its draft Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP). The EEOC invited the public to comment on the SEP by September 18, 2012, with a plan to vote on the draft at the end of September 2012 and to have the SEP become effective October 1. But that time has now passed with no word from the Commission. This suggests that the Commission is closely evaluating the comments submitted and considering which, if any, to incorporate into the final plan. There may also be disagreement within the Commission over portions of the draft plan. As a result, we do not expect the EEOC to issue the final SEP until mid-October at the earliest. Read More
Department of Treasury Proposes Rule Aimed To Ensure Diversity In Its Contractor Workforce
Consistent with the mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Treasury Department issued a proposed rule that would require contractors doing business with the agency to confirm their commitment to equal opportunity in employment and contracting. The rule would amend the Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation to require any entity entering a contract with the agency to insert a statement in each contract that it has made affirmative efforts to include women and minorities in its workforce. If the contractor in turn enters into a subcontractor arrangement to carry out the government contract, the contractor must include the same provision in any such subcontract that has a monetary value of more than $150,000.
In addition to the specific contractual provisions, the proposed rule would provide the Treasury Department with an opportunity to request information from the contractor to demonstrate that the contractor has made a “good faith effort” to satisfy its commitment to diversity. The proposed regulation explains that the documentation that may be requested to demonstrate this “good faith effort” can include: (1) an EEO-1 report of the contractor’s employees, detailing the number of employees and the number of minority and women employees; (2) a list of subcontract awards under the contract at issue, including the dollar amount of such subcontract award, the date of the award, and the subcontractor’s race, ethnicity and gender; (3) EEO-1 data for subcontractors performing work under the contract; and (4) the contractor’s plan to ensure that minorities and women “have appropriate opportunities to enter and advance within its workforce, including outreach efforts.” Failing to comply with these obligations can result in loss of the contract. Read More
Can You Enforce Your Non-Compete Clause?
Employers should take a closer look at non-compete clauses in their employment agreements following the Central District of California’s decision earlier this month in Arkley v. Aon Risk Services Companies, Inc., (Case No. 2:12-cv-01966-DSF-RZ). Arkley invalidated a non-compete clause in an employment contract under California law even though the contract contained a choice of law clause selecting Illinois law, which upholds such clauses. Read More
Equal Pay Is Down but Not Out
Last week, Senate Democrats found themselves seven votes short in their most recent effort to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (“PFA”)—an effort which began in 2005, when Hillary Clinton first introduced the bill. But the Democrats’ continuing effort to paint the issue of equal pay as one of employer bias likely is not over. Read More
The Affordable Care Act and Lactation Breaks
As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s opinion on the constitutionality of its individual health insurance mandate, some lesser-known provisions of the “Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act” (a.k.a. “Obamacare”) have received short shrift. For instance, the Affordable Care Act also amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and requires employers to provide nursing employees with “a reasonable amount of break time to express milk as frequently as needed” for up to one year after a child’s birth. The law also requires all employers subject to FLSA to provide employees with a private place to express milk that is not a bathroom.
While at first blush, this law sounds rather broad, it contains several limitations: Read More