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
For the past 40 years, federal administrative agencies have enjoyed broad latitude in interpreting statutes passed by Congress. Known as “Chevron deference,” courts have routinely deferred to the agencies’ often politically...more
The Empire Struck Back last week when the California Court of Appeal held that the state’s latest back-door attempt to outlaw employment arbitration by any means necessary is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). ...more
We invite you to review our newly-posted May 2024 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
5/23/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Attorney's Fees ,
California ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hostile Environment ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
NASA ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Stock Options ,
Wages
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
Johnson v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, 93 F.4th 459 (9th Cir. 2024) -
The Ninth Circuit vacated a district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s “non-individual” Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims in the wake of...more
Hohenshelt v. Superior Court, 318 Cal. Rptr. 3d 475 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024) -
For the seventh time since they became effective in 2020, the California Court of Appeal has published an opinion holding that Cal. Code Civ. Proc....more
A federal court in New York has held that a Broadway musical’s casting decisions—specifically replacing one actor with another actor of a different race—are shielded by the First Amendment from employment discrimination...more
Back in the “good old days,” arbitration agreements barred just about any type of civil litigation that was filed in court. Then, as we reported in 2014, the California Supreme Court determined that Private Attorneys General...more
On June 15, 2022, in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, Case No. 20-1573,_ U.S. _ (2022), by an 8-1 majority, the U.S. States Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) preempts the California Supreme...more
6/24/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
While the California Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld arbitration agreements with class action waivers (as they must under the Federal Arbitration Act), in a now infamous (and controversial) decision from 2014, the court...more
12/21/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS
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
Five In-Home Supportive Service (“IHSS”) providers filed a class-action lawsuit last month challenging their union’s practice of deducting union dues despite their quitting the union. The workers allege their First Amendment...more
Supreme Court Bars Mandatory Union Dues For Public Employees -
Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S. ___, 2018 WL 3129785 (2018) -
In a highly anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court held that it is a violation of...more
7/12/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
NLRB ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In a highly anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court today held that it is a violation of the First Amendment to require public sector employees who are not members of a union to pay any union dues, even when a...more
6/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Non-Union ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Union Dues
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employers can require employees to arbitrate disputes with the employer individually and waive their right to pursue or...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
Ruth Featherstone alleged that her former employer (SCPMG) discriminated against her based on a "temporary disability" that was caused by an adverse drug reaction, which resulted in an "altered mental state." During this...more
5/8/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Automatic Stay ,
Car Accident ,
CEOs ,
Chapter 11 ,
Company Vehicles ,
Defamation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
McLane Co. v EEOC ,
Motions to Quash ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Public Policy ,
Remand ,
Rescission ,
Resignation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Review ,
Subpoenas ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Employer Is Entitled To Recover $4 Million In Attorney's Fees From EEOC -
CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. EEOC, 578 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 1642 (2016) -
The EEOC filed suit against CRST (a trucking company) alleging...more
7/14/2016
/ Appeals ,
Apple ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Cartwright Act ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
EEOC v CRST Van Expedited ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Former Employee ,
Green v Brennan ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Merits ,
Lay-Offs ,
Misappropriation ,
Motions to Quash ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Outside Counsel ,
Over-Time ,
Passwords ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Prevailing Party ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Restraining Orders ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sherman Act ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Termination ,
Time Warner ,
Title VII ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
US v Nosal ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Violence
Employee Who Needed To Assist Disabled Son Could Proceed With "Associational Disability Discrimination" Claim -
Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc., 246 Cal. App. 4th 180 (2016) -
Luis...more
5/11/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Association Discrimination ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Conciliation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Doffing ,
Donning ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Farmers Insurance ,
FEHA ,
Hostile Environment ,
Judicial Review ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Prevailing Party ,
Qui Tam ,
Raytheon ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Seating ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Suitable Seats Lawsuits ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Nuclear Plant Maintenance Manager's Whistleblower Claim Was Properly Dismissed -
Sanders v. Energy Northwest, 2016 WL 560809 (9th Cir. 2016) -
David W. Sanders, a maintenance manager for Energy Northwest (a...more
3/17/2016
/ Bonuses ,
Breach of Contract ,
Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Contract ,
Energy Reorganization Act ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Mootness ,
Over-Time ,
Protected Activity ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reimbursements ,
Retaliation ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tolling ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
It is no secret that California is no friend to arbitration agreements. As the United States Supreme Court noted in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, “California’s courts have been more likely to hold...more
8/26/2015
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Job Applicants ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Waivers
Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim, wore a headscarf when she interviewed for a job with Abercrombie & Fitch. Although the headscarf was not discussed during the interview, the store allegedly decided not to offer Elauf a...more
7/30/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS
Employee's Inability To Work For A Particular Supervisor Does Not Constitute A "Disability" -
Higgins-Williams v. Sutter Med. Found., 237 Cal. App. 4th 78 (2015) -
Michaelin Higgins-Williams worked as a clinical...more
7/17/2015
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Convictions ,
Costco ,
Department of Corrections ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Disparate Treatment ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Elonis v US ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Facebook ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
First Amendment ,
First-to-File ,
Forum Selection ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Good Faith ,
Hiring & Firing ,
In Forma Pauperis ,
Independent Contractors ,
Internships ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Leave of Absence ,
Lost Wages ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Marshalls ,
Misappropriation ,
Misclassification ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Petition for Writ of Mandate ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Private Right of Action ,
Protective Orders ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Qui Tam ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Rights ,
Tax Liability ,
Title VII ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour ,
Withholding Tax ,
Work-Induced Stress ,
Wrongful Termination
Robert J. MacLean became a federal air marshal for the TSA in 2001. In that role, MacLean was assigned to protect passenger flights from potential hijackings. In July 2003, the Department of Homeland Security issued a...more
The employer in this case, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., provides staffing to Amazon.com throughout the United States. Plaintiffs Jesse Busk and Laurie Castro worked as hourly employees retrieving and packaging products...more