On June 27, 2024, by near-unanimous vote, the California Legislature passed two bills enacting much-needed reform to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). We previously reported on the legislative compromise last week,...more
7/2/2024
/ Anti-Stacking Provisions ,
Audits ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations
Daramola v. Oracle Am., Inc., 92 F.4th 833 (9th Cir. 2024) -
Tayo Daramola is a Canadian citizen who resided in Montreal at all relevant times and who worked for Oracle Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle...more
All eyes will be on the United States this November as Americans head to the polls in the upcoming 2024 general election. Likely to go somewhat less noticed among the Presidential, Senate, and House races this year is a...more
A Single Incident Of Harassing Conduct May Create A Hostile Work Environment -
Beltran v. Hard Rock Hotel Licensing, Inc., 97 Cal. App. 5th 865 (2023) -
Stephanie Beltran, a server at the Hard Rock Hotel in Palm...more
1/26/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Code ,
Over-Time ,
Poison Pill ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Release Agreements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2023 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law...more
12/1/2023
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Arbitration ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bias ,
Breach of Contract ,
Compensation ,
Defamation ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Code ,
Popular ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vacation Leave
When Congress passed and President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“the Act”) last year, we predicted it was just the beginning of an all-out federal assault on...more
8/23/2023
/ ADEA ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Code ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
The California Supreme Court has held that an employee who makes a whistleblower complaint to his or her employer may bring a retaliation claim under the whistleblower statute (California Labor Code § 1102.5(b)) even if the...more
Spring in California can only mean one thing, and no, it’s not Coachella, Dodgers games or even the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano—it’s the annual release of the California Chamber of Commerce’s list of “Job...more
4/13/2023
/ Business Closures ,
California ,
Caregivers ,
Criminal Convictions ,
FEHA ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Labor Code ,
Layoffs ,
Minimum Wage ,
Notice Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws
No Claim By Employee Who Was Friends With Alleged Harasser Atalla v. Rite Aid Corp., 2023 WL 2521909 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023) -
Hanin Atalla and Erik Lund had a social relationship and became “close friends” before Atalla...more
4/3/2023
/ Arbitration ,
California ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Code ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wrongful Termination
In the California Legislature’s latest attack on the fast-food industry, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) introduced the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act (“AB 1228”). AB 1228 was introduced shortly after a...more
A California court has ruled that an arbitrator (not a judge) should decide on the applicability of California Labor Code Section 925 to a dispute between a law firm partner and his former law firm. Zhang v. Superior Court,...more
Killgore v. SpecPro Prof’l Servs., LLC, 51 F.4th 973 (9th Cir. 2022) -
While consulting for an environmental project for the United States Army Reserve Command, Aaron Killgore believed he was being required to prepare an...more
As we previously reported here, in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. v. Bonta, 13 F.4th 766 (9th Cir. 2021), a three member panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected California Labor Code Section 432.6, which...more
Former UCLA Physician Can Proceed With Whistleblower Claims -
Scheer v. The Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 76 Cal. App. 5th 904 (2022) -
Arnold Scheer, M.D., M.P.H., sued the Regents of the University of California and...more
5/23/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CAFA ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Forced Labor ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Code ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The California Supreme Court has resolved an inconsistency that has divided the courts as to the proper evidentiary standard necessary to prove a whistleblower retaliation claim....more
2/10/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Evidence ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Things aren’t looking so good for the long-term health of the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”).
On top of the U.S. Supreme Court’s granting review of a case challenging PAGA’s anti-arbitration rule and a...more
Christmas came early this year for California employers. Bucking the trend of unrelentingly bad news for employers in the state, the California Court of Appeal has held that the default (lower) penalties found in the Labor...more
We have long reported about that modern marvel of well-intentioned legislation gone awry known as the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) – and we also have noted that in practice, PAGA stands for Pretty-much All Goes to...more
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently updated its Guide to COVID-19 Related Frequently Asked Questions to include wage and hour issues related to employer-mandated COVID-19 tests or vaccinations. ...more
Court Affirms $4.26 Million Jury Award For “Self-Published Defamation” -
Tilkey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2020 WL 6268474 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Allstate terminated Michael Tilkey, a 30-year employee who sold life...more
12/3/2020
/ Default Judgment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Forum Selection ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine ,
Labor Code ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trade Secrets ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Li v. Department of Indust. Relations, 2020 WL 4814112 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Fushan Li, the owner of four massage parlors in Lawndale, received three citations from the Labor Commissioner for violations of the state’s...more
Starks v. Vortex Indus., Inc., 2020 WL 5015248 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Chad Starks gave notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) of his allegations that his employer (Vortex) had violated certain Labor...more
Late last week, Gov. Newsom signed AB 685 into law which, among other things, adds section 6409.6 (“Section 6409.6”) to the Labor Code. The new statute, which takes effect January 1, 2021, requires that employers notify...more
Ward v. United Airlines, Inc., 2020 WL 3495310 (Cal. S. Ct. 2020) -
Plaintiffs are pilots and flight attendants for United Airlines, which is based outside California. Although they reside in California, they perform most...more
8/4/2020
/ Airlines ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Code ,
Railway Labor Act ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
Today March 12, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Kim v. Reins Int’l Cal., Inc., holding that an employee’s settlement and dismissal of underlying Labor Code claims does not deprive the...more