The employment lawyers at Lagasse Branch Bell + Kinkead provide prompt and practical advice to our clients with the goal of preventing legal problems before they occur. We work closely with our clients to understand their goals, then we partner with them to achieve those goals. Not only do we provide a thorough analysis of legal risks, but we also help balance legal and operational considerations, so our clients can make the best business decisions for their operations.
Our attorneys have the experience to provide comprehensive advice and practical workplace solutions to ensure our clients remain in compliance with ever-changing employment laws. We are experts not only in state and federal law, but also in the city and county ordinances throughout California that regulate employer conduct, as well as the guidance issued by federal, state, and county regulatory agencies.
Our employment counseling attorneys are available to assist with all aspects of employment law, including:
PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF POLICIES, HANDBOOKS, AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT DOCUMENTS: Employers routinely look to us to develop, draft, review, and revise their personnel policies to ensure compliance with applicable laws, while ensuring they are appropriately tailored to their operations. We prepare employee handbooks, employment contracts, severance agreements, confidentiality agreements, arbitration agreements, affirmative action programs, and other employment related documents.
ADVICE AND COUNSELING: We partner with our clients by offering real-time advice as employment issues arise. We ensure they appropriately handle and document all situations, whether having to do with hiring and firing, discipline, disability or religious accommodation, leaves of absence, harassment investigations, drug and alcohol testing, workplace violence, reductions in force, wage and hour issues, or other human resource practices. We also guide clients through audits and investigations by administrative agencies.
EMPLOYMENT AUDITS: We regularly conduct employment audits of our clients’ human resource practices and evaluate levels of compliance with state, federal, and local laws and ordinances. We tailor all audits to client needs, including by focusing on those areas where they may be most at risk:
- Wage and hour issues: meal and rest periods, timekeeping, compensation, overtime, bonuses, wage statements
- Recruiting Practices: background checks, drug testing, non-discriminatory hiring practices, job descriptions, classification issues
- Leave Management: sick leave, vacation, interactions of various leave laws, disability accommodation and interactive process, return to work, and prevention of discrimination/retaliation
- Discipline, Discharge, and Termination: written warnings, performance improvement plans, reductions in force (RIF), WARN Act and Cal- WARN Act compliance, severance agreements
Upon completion of an audit, we work with our clients to revise their policies and practices to align with applicable laws. We also provide management training to ensure best practices.
TRAINING: We provide entertaining and interactive training tailored to our clients’ needs, including on topics such as best management practices, managing leaves of absence and remote work, and prevention of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, including training that meets the requirements of California and other state-mandated harassment training laws.