California's Private Attorneys' General Act ("PAGA") was the target of a November 2024 ballot initiative that, if passed, would have repealed the Act in response to perceived abuses and frivolous lawsuits....more
The Court's decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis requires plaintiffs to prove "some injury" respecting employment terms or conditions in discrimination cases....more
4/25/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The 2023 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws....more
In Short -
The Background: Indemnity clauses are often included in contracts and can be extremely valuable, but they also raise many potential challenges to enforcing them, including state statutes, common law...more
In Short -
The Situation: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ("PWFA") and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act ("PUMP Act") into law....more
The California Legislature passed a number of new and important labor and employment laws during its 2022 session.
...more
In Short -
The Situation: The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to articulate the standard for determining joint-employer relationships under the National...more
In Short -
The Situation: Faced with a tight labor market, U.S. employers in the food industry are increasingly relying upon temporary labor to meet their staffing needs. ...more
Case Overview -
On June 15, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573. The Court held that the rule from Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles,...more
6/29/2022
/ 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 ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
The California Supreme Court sides with employees in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, finding derivative claims available for waiting time and pay stub penalties available for meal and rest break violations.
This...more
5/31/2022
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Derivative Suit ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R. 4445, titled "Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021" ("Act"). The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit employers...more
3/18/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
The 2021 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new labor and employment laws. Although many relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature adopted more nonpandemic-related statutes this term as...more
12/9/2021
/ Cal-OSHA ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Quotas ,
Record Retention ,
Separation Agreement ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
The California Supreme Court holds that "regular rate of compensation" used for calculating meal and rest period premiums is identical to "regular rate of pay" used for calculating overtime premiums, which includes hourly...more
7/20/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Ninth Circuit decision upholds the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") determination that federal law preempts California’s meal and rest break laws with respect to Department of Transportation-regulated...more
D.C. Circuit calls for broadening the scope of Title VII's antidiscrimination provision.
On February 19, 2021, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit urged the full court to change the standards that...more
The 2020 California legislative session led to a number of new laws that already have had significant impact on employers in the state. Employers were barraged with a combination of state and federal pandemic-related...more
The Department of Labor ("DOL") released a proposed rule on September 22, 2020, containing a new test for determining independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). In many cases, the new test...more
9/30/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour
The Situation: Seventeen states and the District of Columbia filed suit in the Southern District of New York seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Department of Labor's ("DOL") new joint employer...more
9/17/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Employers ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
New Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
The first year of Governor Gavin Newsom’s term produced many significant pieces of employment legislation in California, including most prominently one law limiting the use of independent contractors for most businesses and...more
2/10/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies