SRS Private Investigations

07/21/2017

Workplace harassment claims are among the most dangerous facing California employers.

Once an employer becomes aware of a complaint (based on the knowledge of any supervisor), the law requires a prompt, thorough and objective investigation. Once the investigation is completed, employers are required by law to decisively remedy any unlawful harassment found to have existed.

As a result, the employer’s scrupulous adherence to the detailed requirements applicable to such investigations will have a profound effect on the employer’s ability to avoid or, if necessary, successfully defend a harassment-based lawsuit.

Despite this, many employers are unaware of what constitutes a legally-compliant investigation, starting with the distribution of a mandatory, legally-compliant workplace harassment policy, before a complaint is even registered. This requirement applies to all employers of one or more employees.

Since one of the requirements applicable to workplace investigations is that the employer’s harassment policy is strictly complied with, it is imperative that the policy itself be carefully scrutinized for legal compliance.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About S*x (Harassment), But Were Afraid to Ask.

http://www.jaygputnam.com/2017/07/15/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-sex-harassment-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

I hope you find this informative.

06/17/2017

Many employers make the mistake of misclassifying employees as independent contractors, volunteers, trainees or interns. They do so for a variety of reasons. These are frequently related to the desire to avoid the many legal requirements applicable to employment relationships.

What these employers fail to understand is that whenever work or any services are provided, the law imposes a legal presumption that the working relationship is one of employment. This is true regardless of how the parties characterized the relationship, or whether or not the nature of the parties’ understanding is in writing.

For example, if a claim for overtime compensation, workers compensation benefits, unemployment benefits, workplace harassment or discrimination (to name just a few) is initiated, the business-entity defendant will attempt to defend the claim on the basis that the working relationship was not one of employment, but that the claimant was alternatively an independent contractor, volunteer, trainee or intern. Because of the legal presumption referenced above, the business will be assigned the burden of proof to establish that the relationship was not one of employment.

This will require the employer to satisfy the detailed and demanding rules that apply, depending on the nature of the relationship asserted by the defendant. If the employer asserts that the working relationship is one of independent contractor, it will be required to prove the criteria applicable to that relationship. The same is true if the “employer” asserts the relationship was one of “volunteer,” “trainee” or “intern.” Different rules apply to each.

As explained in this article, to be legally enforceable under California law, a trainee/internship relationship cannot provide any immediate benefit to the employing entity, or it will be deemed to be an employment relationship. This rule alone disqualifies the vast majority of claimed training/internship relationships, and subjects the employing entity to enormous legal exposure for unpaid wages, tax withholdings, unpaid rest and break periods and fringe benefits provided to similarly-situated workers who were paid as employees.

To illustrate, in one famous case, Microsoft Corp. agreed to a settlement of $99 million after several workers alleged that they had been misclassified as independent contractors.

06/06/2017

Many employers use "volunteers" without realizing that they are actually "employees" under California law.

California law includes a legal presumption of employment whenever services are exchanged unless several rigid criteria are satisfied.

Employers who misclassify workers as "volunteers," "interns" or "trainees," face potentially-enormous legal exposure in the event a worker's status is challenged.

This ongoing seminar series is being conducted by veteran Petaluma labor & employment attorney, Jay Putnam. Putnam, has advised employers exclusively, in labor matters for over 36 years. He hopes to provide local business owners and managers with a solid, working understanding of California labor law, as a means of helping them avoid the often crippling cost and disruption caused by lawsuits resulting from a misunderstanding of applicable legal requirements.

Feel free to contact us at 707-537-1091 for futher information.

04/22/2017

I was provided this article for employers to help protect themselves from lawsuits. It is very insightful and I hope all of you are able to use it.

Employee lawsuits
against employers can
cost millions.

Every employer should
immediately implement a
mandatory arbitration policy.
Read on to understand why
and how employers should
institute this policy.

For small business owners,
the stakes are highest, because
they are in effect unwittingly
disarmed and deprived of the
ability to defend themselves,
even in those cases when they
have done nothing wrong.
Some employers have
attempted to address this
problem by purchasing
employment practices liability
insurance (EPLI). However,
this is an imperfect solution,
because insurance policies are
prohibited by law from
covering awards for punitive
damages. Since punitive
damages present greatest risk
for employers in employment
cases, the problem remains
unaddressed.

The good news is that the
solution to this nightmare is
already at hand, yet most
small business employers
don’t take advantage of it.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme
Court authorized employers,
for the first time, to
implement mandatory
arbitration policies in the
workplace.

Although arbitration has,
predictably, met furious
opposition ever since, it
remains a powerful equalizing
force for employers, but only
if a policy is distributed in
writing to employees in
accordance with mandatory
procedural safeguards.
Employers with such
policies in place before a
dispute arises can demand that
lawsuits be immediately
diverted from the traditional
civil litigation system (jury
trial), to mandatory
arbitration. While
employers still have to prove
their defense to the
satisfaction of an arbitrator,
this solves problems related to
anti-employer jury bias
summarized above.

Most importantly, the
arbitration process usually
resolves disputes much
quicker than jury trials,
because it provides for
abbreviated pre-trial motion
and discovery procedures, and
arbitration can reduce the
employer’s defense costs by
as much as 90 (ninety!)
percent.

For this reason alone, the
question of why every
employer in California is not
protected by such a policy
presents an enduring mystery.

________________________
Jay G. Putnam is a Petaluma
labor lawyer representing
California employers for more
than three decades.
www.jaygputnam.com/blog/.

Employee lawsuits against employers can cost millions. Every employer should immediately implement a mandatory arbitration policy. Read on to understand why and how employers should institute this policy. You’ll thank me. California employers face tremendous challenges when it comes to defending law...

04/19/2017

I was provided this article for employers to help protect themselves from lawsuits. It is very insightful and I hope all of you are able to use it.

Employee lawsuits
against employers can
cost millions.

Every employer should
immediately implement a
mandatory arbitration policy.
Read on to understand why
and how employers should
institute this policy.

For small business owners,
the stakes are highest, because
they are in effect unwittingly
disarmed and deprived of the
ability to defend themselves,
even in those cases when they
have done nothing wrong.
Some employers have
attempted to address this
problem by purchasing
employment practices liability
insurance (EPLI). However,
this is an imperfect solution,
because insurance policies are
prohibited by law from
covering awards for punitive
damages. Since punitive
damages present greatest risk
for employers in employment
cases, the problem remains
unaddressed.

The good news is that the
solution to this nightmare is
already at hand, yet most
small business employers
don’t take advantage of it.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme
Court authorized employers,
for the first time, to
implement mandatory
arbitration policies in the
workplace.

Although arbitration has,
predictably, met furious
opposition ever since, it
remains a powerful equalizing
force for employers, but only
if a policy is distributed in
writing to employees in
accordance with mandatory
procedural safeguards.
Employers with such
policies in place before a
dispute arises can demand that
lawsuits be immediately
diverted from the traditional
civil litigation system (jury
trial), to mandatory
arbitration. While
employers still have to prove
their defense to the
satisfaction of an arbitrator,
this solves problems related to
anti-employer jury bias
summarized above.

Most importantly, the
arbitration process usually
resolves disputes much
quicker than jury trials,
because it provides for
abbreviated pre-trial motion
and discovery procedures, and
arbitration can reduce the
employer’s defense costs by
as much as 90 (ninety!)
percent.

For this reason alone, the
question of why every
employer in California is not
protected by such a policy
presents an enduring mystery.

________________________
Jay G. Putnam is a Petaluma
labor lawyer representing
California employers for more
than three decades.
www.jaygputnam.com/blog/.

04/04/2017

This company did an excellent job performing background checks for our business. They were prompt and professional. They found out some interesting facts about one of our applicants and we were grateful since we could have made a bad hire. Thank guys!!

03/17/2017

We will begin offering free advice and educational material around pre-employment backgrounds and screening. Keep watching!

06/04/2016

From workers compensation investigations to surveillance, SRS Private Investigations does it all. Learn more about our services and how we can help you at http://www.srspi.com/.

06/01/2016

Let us comb through your potential employee's background to ensure they are a good fit for your company. Learn more about our investigative services at http://www.srspi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=27.

05/27/2016

We are a full service investigative and security consulting company. From surveillance to scene investigation and more, we do it all. Learn more about our services at http://www.srspi.com/.

05/20/2016

Do you have employee's filing for worker's compensation and you suspect that it's not valid? Let us investigate and get to the bottom of the matter for you. Read more about our services at http://www.srspi.com/.

05/19/2016

Do you have internal theft within your company? Allow the experts at SRS Private Investigations help you investigate. Learn more about our services at http://www.srspi.com/.