We invite you to review our newly-posted, March 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
4/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
CAFA ,
California ,
Defamation ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
FEHA ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sexual Harassment ,
USPS ,
Wage and Hour
Unbowed and unbroken, California continues to work toward creating that Workers’ Paradise in the Sun, and this legislative session did not disappoint! Here are the latest new laws that will take effect by the first of the...more
Erika Paleny alleged harassment, discrimination and retaliation after informing her manager that she would be undergoing oocyte retrieval procedures so she could donate and freeze her eggs for her potential use at some...more
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
Renee Vines filed an action against his former employer alleging discrimination and harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) based on his race and age; that he was retaliated against when he was...more
Does the First Amendment right to free speech permit an employer to hire or fire an employee based on race? On its face, the proposition may seem absurd, especially as we approach the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act...more
4/11/2024
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Title VII
Amanda Neeble-Diamond sued her employer for violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), but after a jury concluded she was an independent contractor rather than an employee, the trial court entered judgment in...more
We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2024 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is already one of the most employee-friendly state civil rights laws in the country. Until now, it was not clear whether employees could sue not only their direct employers...more
Fed up with hearing “very offensive” songs like Eminem’s “Stan” and Too $hort’s “B*job Betty” on the job, Stephanie Sharp and several other employees (including a male) filed a hostile work environment claim under Title VII...more
California is considering a new law (Assembly Bill 331), also known as the Automated Decision Systems Accountability Act. Modeled after the Biden Administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (whitehouse.gov), AB 331...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
Price v. Victor Valley Union High Sch. Dist., 2022 WL 16845113 (Cal. Ct. App. 2022) -
La Vonya Price worked as a part-time substitute special education aide at the Victor Valley Unified School District before applying for...more
Allen v. Staples, Inc., 84 Cal. App. 5th 188 (2022) -
Joyce Allen worked at Staples as a field sales director (FSD) reporting to area sales vice president Bruce Trahey; FSD Charles R. Narlock also reported to Trahey. As...more
In Michelle Roman v. Hertz Local Edition Corp., a United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Hertz, and against former employee Michelle Roman, whose...more
5/26/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Hertz ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A Los Angeles jury has ordered an apartment building owner and property management company to pay $7.6 million to two former live-in apartment managers who claimed to have been wrongfully terminated and discriminated against...more
9/9/2021
/ Compensatory Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Housing Discrimination ,
Lost Wages ,
Punitive Damages ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Wrongful Termination
A U.S. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit of a former employee who claimed disability discrimination after he was terminated for testing positive for marijuana in a pre-employment drug test. Espindola v. Wismettac...more
Board of Directors Quota Law May Be Unconstitutional -
Meland v. Weber, 2021 WL 2521615 (9th Cir. 2021) -
n 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 826, which requires all corporations headquartered in...more
7/20/2021
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour
It’s springtime in California! And even as the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, the California legislature is busy, busy, busy passing hundreds of new laws because, after all, you can never get too much of a good...more
Trial Court Properly Dismissed Employee’s CFRA And Disability Discrimination Claims -
Choochagi v. Barracuda Networks, Inc., 60 Cal. App. 5th 444 (2021) -
George Choochagi worked as a technical support manager for...more
3/19/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Aerotek, Inc. v. The Johnson Group Staffing Co., 2020 WL 5525180 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
The law firm Porter Scott, P.C., defended its client The Johnson Group Staffing (TJG) through two rounds of litigation against claims...more
Reynaud v. Technicolor Creative Servs. USA, Inc., 46 Cal. App. 5th 1007 (2020) -
Plaintiffs Michael and Fiona Reynaud (both British citizens) sued Michael’s former employer, Technicolor, for negligence based upon its...more
Brome v. California Highway Patrol, 44 Cal. App. 5th 786 (2020) -
Jay Brome sued the California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) after resigning as a law enforcement officer, claiming he had been subjected to harassment and...more
Doe v. Department of Corr. & Rehab., 2019 WL 6907515 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
John Doe, who worked as a psychologist at Ironwood State Prison, alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a disability; Doe...more
Mathews v. Happy Valley Conference Ctr., 2019 WL 6769659 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
Jeremiah Mathews worked as a maintenance supervisor and cook for Happy Valley Conference Center, which is a subordinate affiliate of...more