A few weeks ago, Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer announced she was pregnant with twin girls. In her announcement, she said she is “taking limited time away” after the birth of her babies. Mayer’s proclamation triggered discussion and debate on several topics including how much pregnancy and family leave a California employee can legally take off. From my conversations with employers, it is obvious there is confusion around this issue. So here is the law on it. California employers with five or more employees must comply with the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (“PDL”). Under this law, female employees disabled because of pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition can take up to four
The Driving Question in the Uber Case: What Determines if a Worker is an Independent Contractor or a
On September 1, 2015, a federal judge granted class-action status to Uber drivers in a lawsuit brought against the on-demand ride company. Potentially 160,000 Uber drivers in California could join the lawsuit to argue that they were employees of the company rather than independent contractors, and thus are entitled to mileage and tip reimbursement. Using independent contractors is a model of operation not just for transportation companies, but for many industries including the legal industry. Thus, the question everyone is asking is “What determines if a worker is an employee or independent contractor in California?” There is no statutory law or set legal definition of both statuses tha
