Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., 2020 WL 5225699 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court answered a question certified to it by the Ninth Circuit: “Is time spent on the employer’s premises waiting for,...more
Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., 9 Cal. 5th 1130 (2020) -
In this commercial dispute between two companies, the California Supreme Court determined the bounds of a claim for tortious interference of an at-will contract...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
King v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 52 Cal. App. 5th 728 (2020) -
Timothy King sued his former employer for defamation, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and...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
Last Friday, September 4, Governor Newsom signed AB 2257, which includes a slew of modifications to the now-infamous AB5, which went into effect this year and codified the strict ABC independent contractor test, which we have...more
Last week, Uber Technologies, Inc. and Lyft, Inc. announced that they would suspend ridesharing operations in the State of California in response to an August 10, 2020 San Francisco Superior Court judge’s preliminary...more
8/25/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Ridesharing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Brady v. AutoZone Stores, 960 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Michael Brady sued AutoZone Stores for alleged violations of Washington State’s meal break laws. After several years of litigation, the district court denied...more
Horne v. Ahern Rentals, Inc., 50 Cal. App. 5th 192 (2020) -
The surviving heirs of Ruben Dickerson sued Ahern Rentals, a company that leases forklifts and other heavy-duty construction vehicles to its customers....more
Barriga v. 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, 2020 WL 3481717 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Sofia Wilton Barriga filed this lawsuit against her employer, 99 Cents Only, alleging that the “zero-tolerance” policy requiring its stores to...more
8/12/2020
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Employment Policies ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion To Strike ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Statutory Authority ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Wage and Hour ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
Oliver v. Konica Minolta Bus. Solutions USA, Inc., 2020 WL 3446865 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
In this putative class action, plaintiffs Michael Oliver and Norris Cagonot sued their employer for compensation for the time they...more
Kec v. Superior Court, 2020 WL 3869721 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Nichole Kec brought individual, class and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims against her employer, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. Kec had signed a...more
Adams v. West Marine Prods., Inc., 958 F.3d 1216 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Adrianne Adams filed a putative wage and hour class action in state court, which her former employer (West Marine) removed to federal court under the...more
David v. Queen of the Valley Med. Ctr., 2020 WL 3529683 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Registered nurse Joana David sued her former employer, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, for allegedly failing to pay her for meal breaks...more
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. ___, 2020 WL 3808420 (2020) -
Agnes Morrissey-Berru and Kristen Biel worked as elementary school teachers at, respectively, Our Lady of Guadalupe School and St....more
Mattei v. Corporate Mgmt. Solutions, Inc., 2020 WL 3970367 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Alyosha Mattei and three other lighting technicians, all members of Local 728 of the IATSE trade union, worked on the production of a...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
IMDb.com Inc. v. Becerra, 962 F.3d 1111 (9th Cir. 2020) -
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of IMDb.com, a website that lists, among other things, the actual ages of...more
Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. ___, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020) -
The question for the United States Supreme Court in this (and two companion cases) was whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is violated by an...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
California Governor Gavin Newsom has released a 32-page “Employer Playbook” that’s designed to help employers “plan and prepare for reopening their business and to support a safe, clean environment for workers and customers.”...more
For years, federal courts in California have been inundated with wage and hour class actions. Because these cases often clogged district court dockets for months (and, sometimes, even years) on end, the Central District of...more
7/28/2020
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court Schedules ,
Discovery ,
Employment Litigation ,
Excusable Neglect ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Furloughs ,
Local Rules ,
Scheduling Orders ,
Wage and Hour
Understanding and Reacting to New and Increased Risks -
Businesses are facing new and increased risks as they work to continue operations and meet changing demand. The unprecedented duration and nationwide scope of the...more
Employers may face juries that seek to hold them responsible if an employee contracts COVID-19, the trial consulting firm Dispute Dynamics suggests in its latest study.
Dispute Dynamics surveyed 321 individuals, inquiring...more
6/23/2020
/ Bias ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Juror ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation
As we previously reported, last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s State Public Health Officer cleared the music, film and television industry to resume work no earlier than this Friday, June 12, 2020, subject to...more