On June 18, Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced an agreement with employers on reforms to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), with corresponding legislation introduced on June 21. PAGA has been the...more
When is an employer’s violation of providing employees with wage statements knowing and intentional, triggering financial penalties?
Taking its second look at the case, the California Supreme Court ruled that an...more
6/28/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Good Faith ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
Taking a page from countries across the Atlantic, the California legislature is considering a bill that would give employees the “right to disconnect.”
...more
6/27/2024
/ California ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Reform ,
Off-Duty Employee Access ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Disconnect ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On Monday May 7, the California Supreme Court confirmed, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Securities Services, Inc., S279397.PDF (ca.gov), that penalties authorized under Labor Code Section 226 (“Section 226”) for “knowing and...more
5/8/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Penalties ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
In a major turn of events for California employers, on December 15, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that challenges California’s ban on arbitration agreements that limit employees’ right to sue their...more
12/17/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Labor Regulations ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
On September 9, 2021, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Wesson v. Staples, Inc., holding that (1) courts have inherent authority to ensure that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be fairly and...more
9/13/2021
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Judicial Authority ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Staples ,
Wage and Hour
On February 25, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, holding that (1) employers cannot round time punches in the meal period context, and (2) time records showing noncompliant...more
Last week, just before adjourning for a COVID-19-shortened summer recess, the California State Senate passed a measure that, if it becomes law, would significantly expand the availability of unpaid family leave in the state....more
California Makes Seismic Shift With New ‘ABC’ Independent Contractor Test -
The Dynamex Ruling -
In a landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (Charles Lee), the California...more
Supreme Court Gives Stamp of Approval to Representative Statistical Evidence -
Why it matters -
In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the use of representative statistical evidence for...more
4/13/2016
/ Discrimination ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Evidence ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Lilly Ledbetter ,
Minimum Wage ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Personal Liability ,
SCOTUS ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Title VII ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour
Does The ADEA Permit Disparate Impact Suits by Applicants? Eleventh Circuit Says Yes -
Why it matters -
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals created a circuit split with a decision that the Age Discrimination in...more
1/18/2016
/ Actual Injuries ,
ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Caregivers ,
Disparate Impact ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Rights ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Successor Liability ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
NLRB Goes One Step Further, Holds Optional Waiver of Class Action Arbitrations Illegal -
Why it matters -
Reiterating its stance against arbitration agreements that prohibit class or collective actions, a panel of...more
12/14/2015
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IBM ,
NLRB ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
California Supreme Court to Consider "Day of Rest" Law:
Why it matters -
The California Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on the number of consecutive days an employee may legally work without running afoul of...more
11/30/2015
/ Apple ,
Breastfeeding ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marriott ,
Minimum Wage ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Wrongful Termination
New California Employment Laws on Fair Pay, Waiver of Meal Periods -
Why it matters:
California continues its focus on employment-related legislation. Touted as the toughest law of its kind in the nation, Senate...more
10/28/2015
/ Absenteeism ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Pay Secrecy ,
Attorney General ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Background Checks ,
Consent ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure ,
Employment Application ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay Act ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Data Transfers ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Job Applicants ,
Kohls ,
Labor Code ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Military Leave ,
Military Service Members ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
On-Call Employees ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Personal Data ,
Prevailing Party ,
PTSD ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Reversal ,
Substantially Similar ,
Termination ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework ,
USERRA ,
Volvo ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
Take the Cure: New California Law Permits Corrections of Wage Statement Violations -
Why it matters:
Employers may want to review their wage statements after Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law that permits them...more
10/19/2015
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bias ,
Confidential Information ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Email ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Faragher/Ellerth defense ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Internships ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Code ,
Negligent Hiring ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Class ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Right To Cure ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Verizon ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
California Sick Leave Law Gets Updates -
Why it matters:
California's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act just took effect on July 1 but Governor Jerry Brown has already signed into law tweaks to the statute....more
8/10/2015
/ Accrued Benefits ,
Administrative Interpretation ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Appearance Policy ,
Back Pay ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cheerleaders ,
Classification ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DLSE ,
Economic Realities Test ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Brown ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Misclassification ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
NFL ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Suitable Seats Lawsuits ,
Title VII ,
UPS ,
Wage and Hour
DOL Proposes Major Overhaul of Overtime Rules:
Why it matters -
Expanding the scope of employees eligible for overtime, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited new rules revising the white collar...more
7/23/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Certification ,
Classification ,
Comment Period ,
Conciliation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fox Searchlight Pictures ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internships ,
IRS ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
NPRM ,
Over-Time ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Section 6722 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Tax Penalties ,
Trade Preferences Extension Act (TPEA) ,
Unpaid Interns ,
W-2 ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The Impact of National Same-Sex Marriage for Employers -
Why it matters:
How will employers feel the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges? The landmark ruling that the Fourteenth...more
7/13/2015
/ Appeals ,
Class Certification ,
Classification ,
Coerced Patronage ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Due Process ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FedEx ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Indemnification ,
Independent Contractors ,
IRS ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reimbursements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Selfies ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Spouses ,
Title VII ,
Uber ,
Unpaid Wages ,
US v Windsor ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages ,
Wrongful Termination
Joint Employers Can Be Liable for Employee Misclassification in California:
Why it matters -
Liability under the California Labor Code extends to joint employers that are aware of a willful misclassification of an...more
6/29/2015
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hostile Environment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sick Leave ,
Transgender ,
Tyson Foods ,
Wage and Hour
Actual Knowledge by Employer Not Necessary for Title VII Religious Discrimination Claim, U.S. Supreme Court Rules -
Why it matters:
In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a teenage applicant to...more
6/15/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Class Action ,
Disability ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
FEHA ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mootness ,
On-Call Employees ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Guards ,
Settlement ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
Texting ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Coming Soon to an In-Box Near You: An EEOC Charge -
Why it matters:
Employers, take note: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has initiated the rollout of its electronic complaint program, the first...more
5/28/2015
/ ACT Digital ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
FEHA ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Smartphones ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
U.S. Supreme Court Permits Narrow Review of EEOC Conciliation Process -
Why it matters:
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory—albeit limited—to employers when it determined that courts may consider the...more
5/14/2015
/ Class Action ,
Conciliation ,
Dress Codes ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Harassment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
NLRB ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Checks ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
U.S. Supreme Court: Security Screenings Not Compensable -
Why it matters: In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that the time spent by...more
1/26/2015
/ Amazon ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Integrity Staffing v Busk ,
Internet Retailers ,
NLRB ,
On-Call Employees ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS ,
Security Checks ,
Wage and Hour
State Voters Pass Paid Sick Leave, Wage Increases -
Why it matters: The polls have closed and the votes are in: The midterm elections will have a significant impact on employers across the country as voters in multiple...more
11/21/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Facebook ,
Halliburton ,
Independent Contractors ,
Iskanian ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Media ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
EEOC Sues Over Transgender Discrimination -
Why it matters: In its first cases alleging bias against transgender employees, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against a Florida eye clinic and a...more
10/20/2014
/ Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IRS ,
NLRB ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media Policy ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour