Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court ruled that an isolated, one-time, use of a racial slur may be so severe—when viewed in relation to the totality of the circumstances—as to alter the conditions of employment,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis:
The California Supreme Court reaffirmed that arbitration agreements are on equal footing with other types of contracts. Therefore, a court should apply the same principles that apply to other contracts...more
The California Supreme Court concluded that the “good faith” defense applies to claims seeking to impose penalties under California Labor Code section 226. An employee must show that an employer’s failure to comply with...more
5/8/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Good Faith ,
Labor Code ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
On March 25, 2024, the California Supreme Court unanimously answered three questions regarding the meaning of "hours worked” that had been certified to it by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. This ruling illuminates what...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 18, 2024, in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., the California Supreme Court addressed the split in appellate authority as to whether trial courts have inherent authority to strike a PAGA...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that “but-for” is the proper causation standard for FMLA retaliation claims addressed within the...more
1/11/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Burden-Shifting ,
But For Causation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment award on an employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim. The Court’s decision focused on the employer’s improperly narrow delineation of the...more
12/19/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court unanimously held that while claims brought by an employee’s spouse for COVID injury are not barred by the Workers’ Compensation Act’s (WCA) exclusivity provision, policy...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Ninth Circuit opinion has held that music with sexually derogatory and violent content might give rise to a claim for discrimination based on sex even if the music offends both men and women. Sharp, et al...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a published decision, a California Court of Appeal has ruled that a hospital’s decision to terminate an employee for failing to comply with its flu vaccine mandate did not violate California’s Fair...more
5/23/2023
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations
Seyfarth Synopsis: A California Court of Appeal ruled that both the Fair Employment and Housing ACT (FEHA) and California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave law (PDL) require a plaintiff to prove that the plaintiff had a condition...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), which purports to prohibit employers from requiring job...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable federal regulations, percentage of earnings bonuses can be excluded from the calculation of the regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Neutral rounding policies have long been approved by the California courts. See’s Candy Shops, Inc. v. Superior Court (2012). However, the California Court of Appeal recently held that employers who “can...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court recently determined that meal and rest period premium payments are subject to the final pay timing requirements of Labor Code section 203 and the wage statement reporting...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court recently determined that meal and rest period premium payments are subject to the final pay timing requirements of Labor Code section 203 and the wage statement reporting...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California Business and Professions Code section 16600 expresses California’s strong public policy of protecting the right of citizens to pursue any lawful employment. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two new California laws are set to significantly affect the entertainment industry: one will deal a giant blow to productions and studios accustomed to hiring independent contractors; the other will give...more
12/13/2019
/ Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Graphic Designs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Journalists ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Photographs ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: Sometimes even the best employees can have their woebegone days. How is an employer to distinguish between (1) a mental disability that may require accommodation and (2) a case of someone “having the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: An employer did not incur waiting time penalties for inadvertently misstating the amount of pay on a final paycheck, but was liable for its delay in correcting the error. And, by taking an appeal from a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With a single utterance at the recent Academy Awards ceremony, “inclusion rider” entered the popular lexicon. That has led many to wonder, “What is an inclusion rider?” The next question, of course, is...more
3/15/2018
/ Contract Terms ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Sex Discrimination
Seyfarth Synopsis: California employers must use the formula prescribed by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement Manual to calculate overtime on flat sum bonuses, not the bonus overtime formula used under federal law....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Ly v. County of Fresno, the Court of Appeal held that correctional officers’ claims for race, ethnicity, and national origin discrimination were barred because the claims had been previously denied in...more
10/18/2017
/ Appeals ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Corrections ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Police ,
Race Discrimination ,
Res Judicata ,
Retaliation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Nakai v. Friendship House Association of American Indians, Inc., the California Court of Appeal considered whether marital disputes that spill into the workplace trigger FEHA’s marital status protections...more
California courts generally favor forum selection clauses entered into freely by parties and where enforcement is not unreasonable. This general principle is true even if the forum selection clause is “mandatory” and requires...more