Employment law is a broad and complex area of practice impacting every aspect of the employer and employee relationship. We work closely with employers to provide advice in areas such as hiring applicants, wage and hour, discipline and performance, and the disability interactive process.
Much of our practice is devoted to advising schools and colleges regarding compliance with the innumerable employment related laws and regulations. These include California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and many others.
The Private Education Group is adroit at handling the full gamut of employment-related matters. Before an applicant is hired, we ensure that job descriptions will not run afoul of federal or state anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). We guide private educational institutions through the background-check labyrinth of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA), and applicable fingerprinting requirements under the California Education and Penal Codes.
Before an offer of employment is extended, we individually tailor hiring letters, contracts, and agreements that meet our clients’ needs.
LCW provides counsel and advice to manage employee performance and discipline. This includes performance evaluations, performance improvement plans, suspensions, demotions, and terminations.
We specialize in working with private educational institutions when employees take leave. Navigating overlapping leave laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), and the multitude of state and local paid sick leave laws, is not for the faint of heart. Engaging employees in the interactive process and exploring reasonable accommodations takes careful thought and consideration. Our attorneys have both the breadth of knowledge to work through these issues and the focus to address the specific needs of each private educational institution.
Our firm provides a number of trainings to help agencies stay current on employment laws and their interpretations. Explore our calendar to find one near you.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that schools make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. California law also imposes obligations on schools in terms of reasonably accommodating employees. LCW attorneys can assist schools in how to approach this difficult issue every step of the way. From initial contact with a disabled employee applicant, we will help create a roadmap for the appropriate steps to take and how to document the process for your records. Our attorneys are experienced in guiding schools through interactive process meetings to discuss possible accommodations, as well as analyzing whether requested accommodations are reasonable for the school. LCW can guide employers through the complicated ways that disabilities often overlap with questions about leaves, such as Pregnancy Disability Leave, FMLA leave, or Worker’s Compensation matters. We know that this is a complex area of the law for many schools, and LCW attorneys can provide advice and counsel in crafting creative, workable solutions for employee matters.
