A federal appeals court recently affirmed a summary judgment entered in favor of WinCo Foods in a class action alleging that WinCo should have reimbursed successful job applicants for the time and travel expenses they...more
6/17/2022
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pre-Employment Health Screenings ,
Reimbursements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Travel Expenses ,
Wage and Hour
The California Court of Appeal has definitively resolved an issue that was until now somewhat ambiguous: Can volunteers in fact volunteer their time for nonprofit organizations without receiving pay or other forms of...more
1/3/2022
/ Appeals ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Class Certification ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour
In 2018, actress Ashley Judd (“Judd”) sued producer Harvey Weinstein (“Weinstein”) for sexual harassment, defamation, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and unfair competition. Judd alleges that...more
Herrera v. Zumiez, Inc., 953 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Alexa Herrera filed this putative class action against her employer, alleging that Zumiez failed to provide reporting-time pay to employees at its California retail...more
Nuño v. California State Univ., 47 Cal. App. 5th 799 (2020) -
Anthony Nuño, an assistant college professor, represented himself in this lawsuit against California State University, Bakersfield, in which he alleged...more
Noori v. Countrywide Payroll & HR Solutions, Inc., 2019 WL 7183403 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
Mohammed Noori sued his former employer for violation of Cal. Lab. Code § 226(a) (setting forth certain very specific statutory...more
Rall v. Tribune 365, LLC, 2019 WL 6887261 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
Frederick Theodore Rall III, a political cartoonist and blogger, sued the Los Angeles Times after it published a “note to readers” and (later) a more...more
Mathews v. Happy Valley Conference Ctr., 2019 WL 6769659 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
Jeremiah Mathews worked as a maintenance supervisor and cook for Happy Valley Conference Center, which is a subordinate affiliate of...more
Safeway Wage & Hour Cases, 2019 WL 6954322 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) -
Following a jury trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Safeway on the ground that plaintiff William Cunningham was subject to the executive...more
In a highly anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court today held that it is a violation of the First Amendment to require public sector employees who are not members of a union to pay any union dues, even when a...more
6/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Non-Union ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Union Dues
A recent California Court of Appeal opinion reminds employers of the need to carefully monitor parallel workers’ compensation proceedings involving litigants who also have civil claims pending against the employer. Ly v....more
11/1/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Good Faith ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Res Judicata ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)
Jobseeker Website May Be Compelled To Disclose Identity Of Anonymous Posters Who Criticized Employer - ZL Technologies, Inc. v. Does 1-7, 13 Cal. App. 5th 603 (2017) - ZL Technologies brought suit, alleging libel per se and...more
9/13/2017
/ Accrual Requirements ,
Age Discrimination ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Burden-Shifting ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Demurrers ,
DFEH ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Dismissals ,
Evidence ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Former Employee ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Interim Adverse Judgment Rule ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Libel ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Motion to Compel ,
Pretext ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Probable Cause ,
Public Policy ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remedies ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Right to Privacy ,
Section 998 ,
Settlement Offer ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subpoenas ,
Summary Judgment ,
Telemarketing ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vacation Pay ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Waiting Periods ,
Websites
Ruth Featherstone alleged that her former employer (SCPMG) discriminated against her based on a "temporary disability" that was caused by an adverse drug reaction, which resulted in an "altered mental state." During this...more
5/8/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Automatic Stay ,
Car Accident ,
CEOs ,
Chapter 11 ,
Company Vehicles ,
Defamation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Reporting ,
McLane Co. v EEOC ,
Motions to Quash ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Public Policy ,
Remand ,
Rescission ,
Resignation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Review ,
Subpoenas ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Victoria Zetwick, a county correctional officer, alleged that the county sheriff created a sexually hostile environment in violation of Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act by, among other things,...more
3/9/2017
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Class Action ,
Company Vehicles ,
Credit Reports ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sales Commissions ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Vicarious Liability
$90 Million Judgment Reinstated: Employers Must Relieve Employees Of All Duties During Their Rest Periods -
Augustus v. ABM Sec. Servs., Inc., 2016 WL 7407328 (Cal. S. Ct. 2016) -
Jennifer Augustus filed this...more
1/10/2017
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Apple ,
Assault ,
Breach of Contract ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Car Accident ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
CNN ,
Defamation ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
DLSE ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
FEHA ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hostile Environment ,
On-Call Employees ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Security Guards ,
Stock Options ,
Summary Judgment ,
Teamsters ,
Unions ,
UPS ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wages ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Wrongful Termination
$90 Million Judgment Reinstated: Employers Must Relieve Employees Of All Duties During Their Break Time -
This week, the California Supreme Court ruled that California law strictly prohibits on-duty rest periods. “What...more
Employer Is Entitled To Recover $4 Million In Attorney's Fees From EEOC -
CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. EEOC, 578 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 1642 (2016) -
The EEOC filed suit against CRST (a trucking company) alleging...more
7/14/2016
/ Appeals ,
Apple ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Cartwright Act ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
EEOC v CRST Van Expedited ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Former Employee ,
Green v Brennan ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Merits ,
Lay-Offs ,
Misappropriation ,
Motions to Quash ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Outside Counsel ,
Over-Time ,
Passwords ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Prevailing Party ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Restraining Orders ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sherman Act ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Termination ,
Time Warner ,
Title VII ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unauthorized Access ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
US v Nosal ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Violence
Employee's Inability To Work For A Particular Supervisor Does Not Constitute A "Disability" -
Higgins-Williams v. Sutter Med. Found., 237 Cal. App. 4th 78 (2015) -
Michaelin Higgins-Williams worked as a clinical...more
7/17/2015
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Convictions ,
Costco ,
Department of Corrections ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Disparate Treatment ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Elonis v US ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Facebook ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
First Amendment ,
First-to-File ,
Forum Selection ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Good Faith ,
Hiring & Firing ,
In Forma Pauperis ,
Independent Contractors ,
Internships ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Leave of Absence ,
Lost Wages ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Marshalls ,
Misappropriation ,
Misclassification ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Petition for Writ of Mandate ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Private Right of Action ,
Protective Orders ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Qui Tam ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statutory Rights ,
Tax Liability ,
Title VII ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour ,
Withholding Tax ,
Work-Induced Stress ,
Wrongful Termination
Robert J. MacLean became a federal air marshal for the TSA in 2001. In that role, MacLean was assigned to protect passenger flights from potential hijackings. In July 2003, the Department of Homeland Security issued a...more
Roberto Martinez and three other current or former employees of Joe’s Crab Shack (“JCS”) filed this putative class action asserting that they and similarly situated salaried managerial employees had been misclassified as...more
Linda Ferrick, a former senior administrator for Santa Clara University, claimed the termination of her employment resulted from her reporting that her supervisor had engaged in what Ferrick believed to be commercial bribery...more