On May 19, 2025, Proskauer attorneys successfully compelled to arbitration an employment discrimination lawsuit that had been filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. While the former employee claimed that she never signed...more
The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here.
This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and...more
2/7/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
Wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, leveling entire neighborhoods, forcing evacuations for tens of thousands of people, and posing incredible hardship on businesses and their employees...more
1/14/2025
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
California ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Paid Leave ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wildfires
In yet another attempt to avoid arbitration agreements, plaintiffs’ lawyers in the wake of the blockbuster court decisions in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana and Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. began filing so-called...more
1/8/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
On Jan. 1, new legislation aimed at curbing the use of unenforceable noncompete agreements took effect in California.
The new laws, which impose potentially harsh consequences on employers for requiring employees to sign...more
As we previously reported, California recently enacted AB 1076, which reinforces the state’s broad statutory ban on noncompete agreements. The law took effect on January 1, 2024, and expressly codifies Edwards v. Arthur...more
On September 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 699, which amends California Business & Professions Code Section 16600 to prohibit an employer from entering into or attempting to enforce a...more
On September 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 699, which amends California Business & Professions Code Section 16600 to prohibit an employer from entering into or attempting to enforce a...more
Yesterday, the Senate passed H. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the “Act”), by a voice vote. The bill had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 335-97....more
2/11/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
On February 7, 2022, in a 335-97 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill (“Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021”), which would prohibit “mandatory arbitration”...more
2/10/2022
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
In the latest blow against Netflix’s aggressive recruiting practices, a California appellate court has affirmed a trial court’s injunction against Netflix and in favor of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (“Fox”), thus...more
12/22/2021
/ California ,
Competition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fixed-Term Labor Contracts ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Netflix ,
No-Poaching ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
While the California Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld arbitration agreements with class action waivers (as they must under the Federal Arbitration Act), in a now infamous (and controversial) decision from 2014, the court...more
12/21/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Iskanian v CLS Transportation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS
Ninth Circuit Resurrects California’s Anti-Arbitration Statute -
Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. v. Bonta, 13 F.4th 766 (9th Cir. 2021) -
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part a 2020 preliminary...more
11/15/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contingency Fees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lost Wages ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
UTSA ,
Wage and Hour
On Monday afternoon, a San Francisco federal court jury awarded $137 million to a Black former elevator operator who worked at Tesla’s Fremont facility for approximately one year before quitting his employment in 2016. ...more
On Wednesday, in a surprising turn, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed in part a 2020 preliminary injunction issued by a district court and resurrected California Labor Code Section 432.6, the Golden...more
9/17/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws
On January 31, 2020, Chief United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller enjoined California from enforcing AB 51. This new legislation prohibits employers from requiring their employees to sign arbitration agreements....more
As we reported previously, Assembly Bill 51, which would impose criminal penalties upon employers seeking to have their employees sign arbitration agreements, has been challenged in federal court...more
Global Protein Prods., Inc. v. Le, 42 Cal. App. 5th 352 (2019) -
Global Protein Products, Inc. (“GPP”) successfully sued its former employee Kevin K. Le for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and unfair...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
As expected, California’s effort to ban employers from requiring employees and applicants to sign an arbitration agreement has been challenged in federal court. The lawsuit was filed by a business coalition that includes the...more
12/12/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws
On Thursday, October 10, 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law several new measures that employers will need to comply with by January 1, 2020 and that will generally make it easier for employees to sue their...more
10/14/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Governor Newsom ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
Yesterday September 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court held that private litigants may not recover unpaid wages under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). See ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court (Lawson) (Cal....more
9/16/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
There they go again! As we predicted last November, the California legislature is once again trying to outlaw arbitration agreements between employers and employees. Former Gov. Jerry Brown routinely vetoed similar bills that...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
Despite California’s prohibition against non-compete agreements, a federal court in the Eastern District of California recently ruled that a California resident may be subject to the non-compete covenant in his employment...more
7/4/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Employment Contract ,
Forum Selection ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Illegal Contracts ,
Multistate Corporations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Popular ,
Retroactivity ,
State Labor Laws