The Employer’s Wage and Hour Advisor

With holiday parties behind us and companies settling back into their normal routines, it’s the perfect time to highlight some recent changes in California employment law that may require your attention. Some of the laws outlined below, including the California Fair Pay Act, changes to piece-rate compensation requirements, and expanded anti-retaliation protections, may necessitate revisions to existing company policies or creation of new policies. 

Allowing an employee to work four to five days per week from home is not a reasonable accommodation for most jobs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after all. On April 10, 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ultimate decision in  EEOC v. Ford Motor Co., a case arising from Ford’s rejection of an employee’s request to work from home several days per week to accommodate her disability (irritable bowel syndrome).

The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that an employee can establish a prima facie case of pregnancy discrimination if the employee can establish that she belongs to a protected class (i.e., is or was pregnant), she sought an accommodation, and the employer did not accommodate her but the employer accommodated others “similar in their ability or inability to work.”

Allowing an employee to work from home four to five days per week might not be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) after all. On August 29, 2014, in a rare move, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its earlier three-judge panel decision against Ford Motor Company.

Allowing an employee to work four to five days per week from home may be required as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).