Last month, in Jane Doe v. Alkiviades David, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a verdict in a sexual assault and harassment case in the amount of $900 million. This verdict is one of the largest ever for a...more
8/9/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Jury Instructions ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Employee Who Wanted To Donate/Freeze Her Eggs Was Not Protected By Pregnancy Statute -
Paleny v. Fireplace Products U.S., Inc., 103 Cal. App. 5th 199 (2024) -
Erika Paleny alleged harassment, discrimination and...more
8/1/2024
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Fraud ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Lyft ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Whistleblowers
Kader v. Southern Cal. Med. Ctr., Inc., 99 Cal. App. 5th 214 (2024) -
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 401, et seq.) became effective on March 3, 2022. A “statutory...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
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
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
The Los Angeles County Superior Court has confirmed an arbitrator’s October 2021 award of $31 million to be paid by actor Kevin Spacey to producers of the Netflix show House of Cards for Spacey’s alleged breach of contract. ...more
As we have previously reported, jury verdicts in employment cases have continued to skyrocket in recent months, and there is no sign they are leveling off. Late last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded a total of...more
6/6/2022
/ Compensatory Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment
Yesterday, the Senate passed H. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the “Act”), by a voice vote. The bill had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 335-97....more
2/11/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On February 7, 2022, in a 335-97 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill (“Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021”), which would prohibit “mandatory arbitration”...more
2/10/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Kevin Spacey’s legal troubles have taken a costly turn as the production companies behind Netflix’s House of Cards recently asked a California court to confirm an arbitration award of almost $31 million against Spacey for...more
11/30/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hostile Environment ,
Legal Advice Privilege ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Privileged Communication ,
Reputation Management ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
As anyone who has worked in a customer-facing job can tell you, dealing with difficult customers often comes with the territory. However, when customer behavior crosses a line into illegal conduct like sexual harassment, both...more
Judd v. Weinstein, 967 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Actor Ashley Judd brought this sexual harassment claim against motion picture producer Harvey Weinstein under Cal. Civil Code § 51.9, which prohibits such harassment in...more
Blue Fountain Pools & Spas Inc. v. Superior Court, 2020 WL 4581664 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Daisy Arias alleged she suffered sustained, egregious sexual harassment for most of the time she was employed by Blue Fountain,...more
In 2018, actress Ashley Judd (“Judd”) sued producer Harvey Weinstein (“Weinstein”) for sexual harassment, defamation, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and unfair competition. Judd alleges that...more
Ducksworth v. Tri-Modal Distrib. Servs., 47 Cal. App. 5th 532 (2020) -
Bonnie Ducksworth and Pamela Pollock are customer service representatives at Tri-Modal Distribution Services who alleged a failure to promote based...more
Schmidt v. Superior Court, 44 Cal. App. 5th 570 (2020) -
Tamika Schmidt and Danielle Penny, two employees at the Hall of Justice for Ventura Superior Court, claimed they were sexually harassed by a security guard named...more
Time Spent By Employees In Exit Searches Is Compensable -
Frlekin v. Apple Inc., 2020 WL 727813 (Cal. S. Ct. 2020) -
In this opinion, the California Supreme Court answered a question certified to it by the United...more
3/17/2020
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Tony Oncidi and Kate Gold discuss California’s most recent legislative response to the #MeToo movement. These developments include new restrictions on confidentiality and...more
12/2/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Legislatures ,
Statute of Limitations
Last week, we blogged about the avalanche of new labor laws that California employers will face in 2020. Here are two late additions to the list — just in time for Halloween!...more
Here’s a comprehensive list of the new employment-related statutes enacted and signed into law in the Golden State (effective Jan. 1, 2020 unless otherwise specified)...more
10/15/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Bias ,
Breastfeeding ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
In a decision unsurprising to anyone familiar with what California juries have been up to lately, fast-food titan Jack in the Box was ordered to pay $15.4 million (including a staggering $10 million in punitive damages) last...more
6/21/2019
/ Age Discrimination ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jury Awards ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment
For the second time this calendar year, a Los Angeles jury ordered an employer to pay $11 million to an employee who claimed to have been sexually harassed. And, once again, the amount of punitive damages ($8 million) dwarfed...more
The #MeToo and #TimesUpmovements have sparked an undeniably important conversation.
They have brought to light allegations of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination in society at large and in the workplace in...more
3/21/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Investigations
A Los Angeles jury awarded more than $11 million to two former employees who claimed they were sexually harassed and retaliated against for complaining about the harassment.
Megan Meadowcroft and Amber Brown, who worked at...more