July 2000

WIN AT WORK MONTHLY

A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
	Win At Work INSPECTING YOUR PERSONNEL FILE Your personnel file may be a treasure chest of legal claims. Employers are required to retain certain personnel records. In most states, past or present employees may inspect documents pertaining to their employment. In some states, such as California, employees may also copy documents they previously signed. Current employees, save all employment offers, written promises, performance reviews and other relevant documents so you don’t have to ask to inspect your file. Your employer may interpret your request as threatening and disloyal. By trying to protect your job security, you may unwittingly be making it less secure. However, if you must, assert your rights! Past employees, make requests in writing so employers can’t later deny you made them. If you’re denied copies, take notes or photographs. Your file may help prove legal claims of breach of contract, discrimination, whistle‑blower retaliation, or unpaid wages. Unfortunately, your treasure may remain forever buried unless you dig it up.		Employee Rights Update AGE DISCRIMINATION CASES NOW EASIER TO PROVE Historically, employees, who alleged discrimination, had to show they were (1) qualified, (2) protected based on their age, race, gender, etc., (3) subjected to adverse treatment, such as termination, and (4) replaced by someone outside the protected class. They then had to show that the employer’s articulated nondiscriminatory excuse for the adverse action was false and merely a cover up for the real reason -- discrimination. Some courts, however, also required employees to then offer additional evidence of an illegal motive, such as bias due to age, before they could have their case heard by a jury. In a recent case, the Supreme Court said, no, this may not be necessary where the employer has no other “legitimate” excuses to fall back on. We anticipate the Court’s ruling will extend to all types of discrimination cases, making it easier for employees to get these claims heard by the jury, rather than losing the fight before even getting to trial. - Sharon J. Ormond, Attorney
		Update on our attorneys - Blair L. Roberts resolved several cases involving discrimination and harassment in the six-figure range. Don D. Sessions was quoted in the Wall Street Journal’s Smart Money magazine on severance pay issues.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the "Shop Talk" column of the Times’ Sunday Business Section or the Register’s "Business Monday" Section. Click here to add (or here to delete) your E-mail address to or from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, mailto:attorneys@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column appearing in Times/Mirror Publications (including Los Angeles Jobs and Orange County Jobs) and elsewhere. Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney. ©2000 by Don D. Sessions.