Seyfarth Synopsis: Failure to promote claims brought under the Fair Employment and Housing Act accrue when the adversely affected employee knows, or reasonably should know, of the employer’s unlawful refusal to promote; and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a refreshing display of judicial restraint, the California Court of Appeal has declined to extend California’s “wrongful termination” law to a failure to hire, because in the absence of a preexisting...more
10/2/2019
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Race Discrimination ,
Tameny Claim ,
Tort ,
Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court has held that an individual may not seek unpaid wages under Labor Code section 558. Section 558 can be invoked only by the Labor Commissioner or by an individual suing under...more
9/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Code ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Traditionally, “report for work” has meant physically showing up at the jobsite, ready to work. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, a class action alleging unpaid wages, the California Court of Appeal affirmed a summary judgment for the employer, upholding a rounding policy that was neutral on its face...more
12/21/2018
/ Appeals ,
Business Expenses ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has invalidated an arbitration agreement between a law firm and its “partner” because the agreement restricted the scope of arbitral relief available and made pre-arbitration proceedings...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Court of Appeal has upheld the validity of pay plans that guarantee a wage that meets or exceeds the minimum wage for all hours worked during a pay period, but that also enables the employees...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A collective bargaining agreement, to permissibly waive a negotiable statutory right, must do so in a clear and unmistakable manner, by mentioning either the statutory protection being waived or the statute...more
8/22/2018
/ Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grocery Stores ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Statutory Rights ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights
Employers adopting an Alternative Workweek Schedule (AWS) must follow the specific rules in the applicable wage order or face liability for unpaid overtime. But employees cannot recover penalties for accurate wage statements,...more
5/17/2018
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Work Schedules
Seyfarth Synopsis: Based on the legal principle of res judicata, a prior class action settlement that released a staffing agency and its agents barred a subsequent class action against the staffing agency’s client....more
4/20/2018
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Res Judicata ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Summary Judgment ,
Temporary Employees ,
Unpaid Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: Under California law, obesity can qualify as a disability if it has a physiological cause and limits a major life activity. Proving such a claim has been difficult. The First District Court of Appeal’s...more
1/2/2018
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment
Seyfarth Synopsis: California employees who are denied adequate wage statements (“paystubs”) can sue for penalties. Paystub penalty plaintiffs generally must prove they suffered an “injury” caused by the employer’s “knowing...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal held that police officer recruits who were not “qualified individuals” under FEHA for purposes of their discrimination claim could nonetheless prevail on their claim for failure to...more
2/18/2017
/ Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Employee Reassignment ,
FEHA ,
Future Wages ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
New Trial ,
Police ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has held that unless a collective bargaining agreement includes an explicitly stated, clear and unmistakable, intent to waive the right to a judicial forum for statutory causes of...more
2/13/2017
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Grievance Process ,
Hospitals ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Lack of Specificity ,
Motion to Compel ,
Nurses ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Lubin v. Wackenhut Corp., the California Court of Appeal reinstated an effort to certify a class of over 10,000 security officers required to sign on-duty meal period agreements. The Court of Appeal...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: An employee who expresses opposition to an employer’s policies and practices that affect members of the general public is not engaging in an activity that FEHA protects, because the activity is not opposing...more
11/21/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Protected Activity ,
Public Employees ,
Retaliation ,
San Francisco ,
Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: Accrued vacation pay is not a category that must appear on employee wage statements.
California Labor Code section 226 requires employers to report various categories of information on employee wage...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California Court of Appeal reverses a summary judgment for an employer that failed to follow its own policy regarding layoffs.
Moore v. Regents of the University of California serves as a reminder to...more
6/29/2016
/ Appeals ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
Since the California Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation that claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) are not subject to arbitration, California federal district courts have rejected...more
Many companies doing business in California have had difficulty persuading California courts to enforce their arbitration agreements. Those courts often have used the doctrine of unconscionability to deny enforcement on the...more
Many companies doing business in California have implemented arbitration agreements for resolving disputes with their employees. Companies headquartered in states other than California often prefer to use the law of their own...more