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)
California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed Senate Bill 63 into law, expanding parental leave protections to those individuals who work for employers with at least 20 employees. Under the new law, which is set to take effect on...more
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a statewide salary history inquiry law that will largely restrict employers in the state from seeking and relying upon salary history information from applicants during the...more
Jury panels in the Los Angeles Superior Court (which is often referred to as “The Bank” by the plaintiffs’ bar) have recently delivered multimillion-dollar verdicts to former-employee plaintiffs. Many employers doing business...more
9/5/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Punitive Damages ,
Wrongful Termination
San Francisco has become the latest jurisdiction to pass a law restricting employers from inquiring about prior salary history during the hiring process. The ordinance, which will go into effect on July 1, 2018, will restrict...more
As we previously blogged, Assembly Bill 2337 (approved by the Governor last fall) will go into effect on July 1, 2017As we previously blogged, Assembly Bill 2337 (approved by the Governor last fall) will go into effect on...more
In May 2017, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) approved new regulations regarding transgender identity and expression in the workplace. The regulations become effective July 1, 2017....more
6/26/2017
/ DFEH ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
FEHA ,
Gender Identity ,
Housing Discrimination ,
New Rules ,
Transgender
Last month the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced the release of a new guide for California employers on the steps they should take to prevent and correct workplace harassment...more
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council (“FEHC”) has finalized new regulations further limiting employers’ ability to consider criminal history when making employment decisions. The new FEHC regulations, which are...more
As we reported here in December, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance is now effective. The new law, also referred to as the “Ban the Box “ ordinance, restricts employers in the City of Los...more
$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
On December 9, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the “Fair Chance Initiative” into law. The new law, also referred to as the “Ban the Box” ordinance, restricts employers in the City of Los Angeles from asking job...more
12/14/2016
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance
Around this time last year, Section 1197.5 of the California Labor Code was amended by S.B. 358 in order to “eliminate the gender wage gap in California.” Among other things, the amendment sought to increase wage transparency...more
10/4/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour
Employee Who Needed To Assist Disabled Son Could Proceed With "Associational Disability Discrimination" Claim -
Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc., 246 Cal. App. 4th 180 (2016) -
Luis...more
5/11/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Association Discrimination ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Conciliation ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Doffing ,
Donning ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Farmers Insurance ,
FEHA ,
Hostile Environment ,
Judicial Review ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Prevailing Party ,
Qui Tam ,
Raytheon ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Seating ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Suitable Seats Lawsuits ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
The latest legislative session has just ended, and, true to form, the California Legislature has added more than a dozen new laws affecting employers doing business in the nation’s largest state. These statutes are in...more
10/21/2015
/ Accrual Method ,
Anti-Pay Secrecy ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Change in Control ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Enforcement ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Labor Standards Enforcement ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Activity ,
Protected Class ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Substantially Similar ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Wage Statements ,
Whistleblowers
It is no secret that California is no friend to arbitration agreements. As the United States Supreme Court noted in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, “California’s courts have been more likely to hold...more
8/26/2015
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Job Applicants ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Waivers
Samantha Elauf, a practicing Muslim, wore a headscarf when she interviewed for a job with Abercrombie & Fitch. Although the headscarf was not discussed during the interview, the store allegedly decided not to offer Elauf a...more
7/30/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS
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
Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc., 2015 WL 691304 (9th Cir. 2015) -
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has certified three questions to the California Supreme Court...more
In this putative class/Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) action, Jazmina Gerard (and others) challenged a hospital policy that allowed health care employees who worked shifts longer than 10 hours to voluntarily waive one...more
The putative class members in this case moved for class certification on the theory that although Walgreens’s stated policy on meal breaks was proper, its actual practice departed from its stated policy in an illegal and...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
Manuel Tabarrejo was employed as a caregiver by Princess Retirement Homes, Inc. (“PRH”). After Tabarrejo left his employment with PRH, he filed a claim with the Labor Commissioner for unpaid wages and other wage-related...more
Diego v. Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 231 Cal. App. 4th 913 (2014) -
Cecilia Diego, the former assistant director of Pilgrim United’s preschool, sued her former employer for retaliation in violation of public...more