March 2002

WIN AT WORK MONTHLY

A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
	Win At Work PUBLIC POLICY CLAIMS There are two types of employment claims—contractual and those arising from a violation of public policy. Public policy typically prohibits discrimination, whistle‑blower retaliation and violations of statutes. But it can be even more expansive in some states. For example, in some states, it is against public policy to fire an employee to avoid paying that employee what otherwise might be owed. In fact, the law may “presume” an illegal motive if any money is owed and unpaid to the employee after the date of termination. That puts the initial burden on the employer to prove that it did not wrongfully terminate the employee. This gives the employee a strategic edge not available in other claims. This type of claim expands the wage damages on a contractual claim to include damages to punish the employer and compensate the employee for emotional distress. Public policy claims can be an employee’s balm and an employer’s bane.		Employee Rights Update DOMESTIC PARTNERS’ RIGHTS Domestic partners are same-sex adults who share their lives and opposite-sex unmarried couples over age 62 living together. Since 1999, domestic partners of state government workers are eligible for insurance benefits, and any domestic partners can register with the Secretary of State. As of January 2002, registered domestic partners can use sick leave to care for an ill partner or their child, and collect unemployment insurance if they quit to relocate with their partner. A registered domestic partner may now file a state disability insurance claim on behalf of a mentally incapacitated partner, and a partner of a state employee may receive health coverage as a surviving beneficiary as do spouses. And insurers must offer companies group health plans that cover domestic partners the same as spouses (although the company need not offer that benefit). As of August 2000, over 3,500 California employers had health plans that covered partners, and the number is growing. - Mark J. Keough, Attorney
		Update on our attorneys – Mark Keough, a member of Inns of Court, attended a seminar by Judge William Gray on substance abuse issues. Peter Taylor attended a Bar seminar on procedures at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the "Shop Talk" column of the Los Angeles Times’ Monday Business Section or the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. Click here to add (or here to delete) your E-mail address to or from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, 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. ©2002 by Don D. Sessions.