Barger & Wolen

Liability for prohibited “employment practices” under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) generally requires the existence of an employment relationship. In a discrimination case, for example, there must exist…more

In Toro Enterprises Inc. v. Pavement Recycling Systems Inc., 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 519 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Apr. 9, 2012) the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District reversed the trial court and granted fees…more

In Wood v. City of San Diego, Janet Wood brought suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging the surviving spouse benefit provided by the City of San Diego to retired employees discriminated on the basis of…more

In light of a federal court ruling, Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has shelved controversial new regulations for determining whether a majority of employees wish to be represented by a…more

In DMS Services, Inc. v. Superior Court, the Plaintiff brought suit in California state court for breach of contract, bad faith and related claims against the third-party administrator, or TPA, responsible for managing its…more

In Samaniego v. Empire Today, Plaintiffs worked as carpet installers for Defendant, Empire Today. When they were initially hired, and again later during their employment, Plaintiffs were given form contracts and told to sign…more

In Aleksick v. 7-Eleven, Plaintiff Aleksick represented a class claiming that 7-Eleven’s payroll system violated California Business and Professional Code 17200. The complaint alleged that 7-Eleven’s method of converting…more

In Sciborski v. Pacific Bell Directory, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, determined that an employee’s claims for wage deductions under California Labor Code 221 was not preempted by…more

As reported in the San Francisco Daily Journal, (subscription required), there is a wide disparity in attorney fees awarded in class actions. Though many jurisdictions provide fee award guidelines, judges are largely left to…more

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has sued the City of Jacksonville, Florida’s firefighters union for basing promotions on a written test that few black candidates have passed. The suit raises the thorny…more

In Balla v. State of Idaho, 2012 DJDAR 4848 (2012), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted attorney fees in a class action brought under the provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The case began in the 1980s. The…more

On May 3, 2012, the California Assembly passed a bill that would require health insurers that are regulated by the Department of Insurance to submit information to the department when the insurer plans to terminate its contract…more

In Thornton v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, 2012 DJDAR 4796 (2012), the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District decided a legal question pertaining to the reimbursement of attorney fees…more

The “Guidance” approved by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on April 25, 2012, restricts employers’ ability to consider criminal history in hiring and retention decisions. In so doing, it contains some…more

In Henry M. Lee Law Corp. v. Superior Court, 2012 DJDAR 4763 (2012), the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District decided a novel case arising out of wage and overtime litigation brought under Labor Code…more