Summary: Courts must consider allegations of a racially hostile workplace “from the perspective of a reasonable person belonging to the racial or ethnic group of the plaintiff.” Under this framework, “a single racial epithet...more
8/20/2024
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
FEHA ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Investigations ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Slurs
The Risk of Litigating Before Moving to Arbitrate - Many employers in California ask or require their employees to execute arbitration agreements. When a claim arises, the employer has a choice—proceed with litigation...more
The Question - The basics of California’s wage statement requirements should be familiar to employers. The consequences for failing to comply with these requirements can be severe....more
An issue that has long plagued employers in California is whether time an employee spends on the employer’s premises making their way to or from their worksite is compensable. We have seen a spike in lawsuits raising this...more
Summary -
Emergency Rule 9, which tolled statutes of limitations for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is valid and operates to extend the time to file a civil suit for a PAGA claim as well as the time period to...more
9/22/2023
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
FEHA ,
Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Remand ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
A plaintiff maintains standing to pursue a non-individual PAGA claim in state court when his individual PAGA claim is sent to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement...more
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., holding unpaid meal and rest break premiums can give rise to derivative claims for waiting time...more
Gunther v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 72 Cal. App. 5th 334 (2021) -
Summary: Heightened civil penalties under Labor Code section 226.3 ($250 & $1,000) do not apply to all violations of section 226, only when the employer...more
Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, No. S259172, 2021 WL 2965438 (Cal. Jul. 15, 2021)
Summary: The term “regular rate of compensation” under California Labor Code section 226.7 is synonymous with the term “regular rate...more
8/11/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rate of Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Reversing a court of appeal decision that had been welcome news for employers, the California Supreme Court held today in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, S259172, that the term “regular rate of compensation,” used for...more
Donohue v. AMN Services., LLC, No. S253677, 2021 WL 728871 (Cal. Feb. 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context.
Time records that show...more
Shirvanyan v. Los Angeles Community. College District, No. B296593, 2020 WL 7706321 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2020) -
The availability of a reasonable accommodation is an element of a claim under the Fair Employment and...more
1/11/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Interactive Process ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers Compensation Act
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S. Ct. 2049 (2020) -
Summary: The ministerial exception, grounded in First Amendment’s religion clauses, barred teachers’ employment discrimination claims where teachers...more
8/11/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Article III ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CAFA ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Discovery ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
First Amendment ,
FRCP 23 ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v Morrissey-Berru ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Religious Workers ,
Right to a Jury ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
State Arbitration Acts ,
Waiver of Rights
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020) -
Summary: Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity....more
7/15/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Appeals ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Commuting ,
Compensation Schemes ,
Control Test ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
IWC ,
Labor Code ,
LGBTQ ,
Mileage Reimbursement ,
Out-of-State Employees ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders ,
Wage Statements
In a pair of overlapping opinions issued today – Ward v. United Airlines, Inc. and Oman v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. – the California Supreme Court addressed a wide variety of unsettled questions in California wage-and-hour law....more
Scalia v. Employer Solutions Staffing Group, LLC, 951 F.3d 1097 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Summary: Neither the Fair Labor Standards Act nor federal common law provide an employer with a right to seek contribution or...more
4/17/2020
/ Appeals ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Common Law ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Indemnification ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Hires ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reversal ,
Standing
Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., -- Cal. -- (2020) -
Summary: The time employees spent on Apple’s premises waiting for and undergoing a mandatory exit search of personal belongings was compensable as “hours worked” under Wage...more
3/11/2020
/ Appeals ,
Apple ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Contract Drafting ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Exit Inspections ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitals ,
Job Applicants ,
Nurses ,
Privity of Contract ,
Release Agreements ,
Res Judicata ,
Right to Control ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Security Checks ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Teachers ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
Ever since the California Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision in Dynamex Operations W., Inc. v. Superior Ct., 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), we have been monitoring its application by the lower courts. On October 8,...more
10/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
IWC ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
On August 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court held in OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, S244630, that a mandatory arbitration agreement may be unenforceable against employee wage claims if it requires the employee to forego the “Berman”...more
9/10/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Berman Hearings ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Reversal ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
This month's key California employment law cases involve payment of wages, workplace conditions, public employment issues, and civil procedure....more
9/4/2019
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Defamation ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Exit Inspections ,
FEHA ,
Free Speech ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Minimum Wage ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Nike ,
Non-Union ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Partial Reversal ,
Protected Activity ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reimbursements ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stays ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Attire ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
As we previously reported, on May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, No. 17-16096, held that the California Supreme Court's landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc....more
8/21/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
In Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, the California Supreme Court recently held that the federal de minimis doctrine does not apply to claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor Code. As a follow-up to our recent...more
10/19/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Commuting ,
Corporate Counsel ,
De Minimis Claims ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Text Messages ,
Timekeeping ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On July 26, 2018, in a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court in Troester v. Starbucks Corporation held that the federal "de minimis doctrine" does not apply to claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor...more
7/27/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour