On July 17, 2023, the California Supreme Court ruled that where an employee has brought a California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) action that is comprised of both individual and non-individual claims, a court order...more
7/20/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
In its recent McLaren Macomb decision,1 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling finding unlawful the type of nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions employers use in severance agreements with their...more
A recent federal appellate court ruling has once again introduced uncertainty for California employers as to whether they may require mandatory arbitration of employment disputes. In 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 51...more
In California, employers with non-exempt employees often utilize time-rounding policies to determine whether employees have been fully paid for time worked, as well as whether employees have taken a meal break in the manner...more
In a further attempt to "bend the curve" and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that he is "pulling the emergency brake" on the state's reopening plans, and California has issued...more
12/8/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). As a majority of states do not have laws...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Two recent cases have found that employee non-solicitation agreements, at least in the form many companies currently use, are unlawful in California. In AMN Healthcare, Inc. v. Aya Healthcare Services, Inc., 28 Cal. App. 5th...more
Once again, California's Supreme Court has underscored that California employment law can differ from federal law in significant, and typically more employee friendly, ways. In Douglas Troester v. Starbucks Corporation,1 a...more
As summer approaches, many employers are considering “hiring” summer interns, as well as what to pay them, if anything. Some employers will consider engaging the services of unpaid interns, sometimes at the request of eager...more
California has joined a growing number of cities and states seeking to advance gender pay equity by passing laws prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their salary histories.1 Effective January 1, 2018,...more
In non-competition agreement disputes involving California employees, it is common to encounter an agreement stating that the law of another state governs the non-compete. Since non-competes in California are generally...more
Employers frequently struggle with determining when a service provider should be classified as an independent contractor, as opposed to an "employee." Getting the answer to that question wrong can prove significant in many...more
The California Supreme Court has upheld the use of class action waivers in mandatory arbitration agreements. In Iskanian v. CLS Transportation of Los Angeles (June 23, 2014), the court held that a state's refusal to enforce...more
6/27/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
CLS Transportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Trucking Industry
By the end of this year’s term, the United States Supreme Court had issued three “employer-friendly” decisions. While the decisions do not dramatically alter the employment law landscape, employers will still welcome the...more
8/2/2013
/ American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
UT Southwestern Medical v Nassar ,
Vance v. Ball State University