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
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for employees to challenge discriminatory job transfers. In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the Court held that an employee challenging a job transfer under Title VII must show that...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
Summary -
Where an employer can and does track the exact time in minutes that its employees work each shift, and those records show that employees were not paid for all the time they worked, neutral time rounding is not a...more
12/8/2022
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
FMCSA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactivity ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
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
Clark v. Superior Court., No. D077711, 2021 WL 1050057 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 19, 2021) -
Summary: Employee exhausted her administrative remedies despite failing to identify her employer’s proper legal name in her DFEH...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
California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires that certain “mandated reporters” report whenever they, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, have knowledge of or observe a child...more
Ridgeway v. Wal-Mart, Inc., 946 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2020) -
The employer must pay minimum wages to employees for time spent on mandated layovers where the employer’s policy imposes constraints on employees’ movements...more
2/12/2020
/ Administrative Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
FEHA ,
Jury Trial ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
Police ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Preemption ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
On October 10, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 9 into law, extending the statute of limitations for claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), California's comprehensive employment...more
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
On September 30, 2018, for the final time during his tenure as Governor, Governor Jerry Brown acted on a series of bills passed by the legislature that would have far-reaching consequences for employers. Though employers can...more
10/2/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Board of Directors ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Woman Board Members
On August 22, 2018, the California Senate voted to approve AB 3080, a bill prompted by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Nominally, the bill is intended to combat the use of mandatory arbitration agreements and...more
8/23/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Personal Liability ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights