Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 406: Listen and Learn -- Defenses to a Crime
Voluntary Payment Doctrine
Making Effective Use of the Claims/Disputes Process
FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report-Episode 12 with David Simon and Bill Athanas on adding a compliance defense to the FCPA
When has a party waived its contractual right to arbitrate? Until recently, most federal Courts of Appeal—including the Sixth Circuit— held that a party who participates in litigation (e.g., by serving and responding to...more
For decades, the Department of Labor (DOL) has recognized the impracticability of requiring Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nonexempt employees to clock in exactly at the beginning of their scheduled shifts. In most...more
In a recent case issued by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (“the Court”), the Court addressed the standard and level of proof that must be presented by employers when raising as an affirmative defense a corporate...more
A female applicant applies for a position that was widely advertised. During her interview she insists on being paid $100,000. The employer agrees to her salary demand although it employs a male doing substantially similar...more
In a case of first impression, last week, the Second District California Court of Appeal held that judges have inherent authority to limit, and even strike, unmanageable PAGA claims. ...more
On September 9, 2021, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Wesson v. Staples, Inc., holding that (1) courts have inherent authority to ensure that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be fairly and...more
If an employee is passed over for a promotion due to alleged harassment, does the failure to promote happen when the employer decides to promote someone else or when the successful candidate actually takes on the role? ...more
This week, we take a look at two decisions tackling novel procedural issues. In the first, the Court strictly applied the amount-in-controversy requirement of the Class Action Fairness Act, faulting a defendant for not...more
On April 30, 2020, Judge V. Raymond Swope of San Mateo Superior Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in Jewett et al. v. Oracle America, Inc. In doing so, the court certified a class of more than 4,100...more
Yesterday, the full Ninth Circuit held that an employer cannot rely on an individual’s prior salary to justify a wage disparity between a male and female employee. In Rizo v. Yovino, a female math teacher brought a claim...more
SB 123, just passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Brown, makes several amendments to Oregon’s pay equity law. Most notable are the revisions to the limited affirmative defense available to employers in litigation....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals in the Seventh Circuit has recently decided a case involving an extremely obese bus driver and denied his claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213, as...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to consider whether federal courts have the authority to waive a Title VII plaintiff’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies before the EEOC, or state equivalent, before filing a...more
Your employee quits without notice or explanation. You discover that she moved to a competitor in violation of her non-compete agreement, and what’s worse, days before her resignation, she downloaded your trade secrets onto a...more
Overturning 40 years of precedent, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that an employee’s failure to file an EEOC charge does not necessarily bar consideration of a private discrimination lawsuit. By concluding...more
Q: Does my company have an affirmative defense to a sexual harassment claim if the company has a policy for reporting sexual harassment and an employee never makes a report of sexual harassment under that policy? ...more
In U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Maryland Insurance Administration, No. 16-2408 (January 5, 2018), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the application of the summary judgment standard to a claim...more