Lisa Guerin

J.D. · UC Berkeley School of Law

Lisa Guerin is the author or co-author of several Nolo books, including The Manager's Legal Handbook, Dealing with Problem Employees, The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws, The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave, Workplace Investigations, and Create Your Own Employee Handbook.  Guerin has practiced employment law in government, public interest, and private practice, where she has represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts and in agency proceedings. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law.

Articles By Lisa Guerin

What to Do If You're Facing Discrimination in the Workplace
What to do if you are being discriminated against or harassed at work.
Are You Eligible for FMLA Leave?
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed to help employees balance work and family obligations. The law requires employers to let employees take leave to care for family members or recover from a serious illness. But not every employer, employee, or need for leave is covered. This article explains ten things employees should know about this landmark law.
Can I Refuse to Sign My Employer's Arbitration Agreement?
Question: After a long application and interview process, I was recently offered a position at a technology company. I sat down with the HR rep on my first day to go over paperwork. The company wants me to sign an arbitration agreement, giving up my right to sue in court for anything illegal that happens
Can I Get Fired for My Social Media Posts?
With Facebook boasting 750 million users, and millions more using Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and other social networking sites to post content, chances are good that many employees at any given company have a social media presence. You may consider your online posts to be personal -- put up for friends
Can I Refuse to Participate in a Workplace Investigation?
Question: A coworker complained about sexual harassment in our department. She told the HR Director that some of the guys tell dirty jokes and make sexist remarks and that our manager joins in. She named me as a witness to some of these incidents. I have seen and heard the comments she complained about,
Dealing With a Negative Reference From an Employer
If you are looking for a job, you need all the help you can get, especially in these tough economic times. Positive references from former employers can go a long way towards getting your foot in the door of a new job. Negative references can have an equally strong effect, but the door is more likely to slam in your face.
On-Call Time: Are You Entitled to Be Paid?
On-call time is time when an employee is not actually performing job duties, but must be available to work if called upon. For example, a trauma nurse who must carry a pager and return to the hospital immediately if paged is on call, as is a computer technician who must respond to help calls over the weekend.
Can my employer require me to buy my own laptop for work?
Question: Recently my employer decided to "let" us use our own laptops for work. But I don't own a laptop, and I don't think I should have to buy one just to do my job. Can they require me to provide my own work computer?
Do I Need an Attorney to File a Charge With the EEOC?
Question: I work for a big construction firm, and I'm often the only woman on a job site. A couple of the guys I work with have been making really gross sexual comments around me and calling me names. I joked with them about it for a while, but they kept getting worse. Finally, I told them they were bothering me and asked them to stop. Well, they didn't stop.
Could Suing Your Employer Affect Future Employment?
Question: I was fired from my last job after I complained about a hostile work environment. Some of the men in my department routinely made sexist comments and told dirty jokes; they also looked at pornography at work. After I complained to our manager about it, he started downgrading my performance