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
After temporarily falling to third place in 2020, California once again claims the top spot on the American Tort Reform Foundation’s (ATRF) annual list of “Judicial Hellholes.” While California has not taken home the gold in...more
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
A new California law, effective January 1, 2022, closely regulates productivity quotas for warehouse distribution centers. AB 701 applies to employers of 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or...more
9/27/2021
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Distribution Centers ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Quotas ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Warehouses
Ninth Circuit Rejects “Paramour Preference” Liability Arising From Supervisor’s Affair With Another Employee -
Maner v. Dignity Health, ___ F.4th ___, 2021 WL 3699780 (9th Cir. 2021)
William “Bo” Maner worked as a...more
9/20/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Ownership Interest ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Romances
We have long reported about that modern marvel of well-intentioned legislation gone awry known as the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) – and we also have noted that in practice, PAGA stands for Pretty-much All Goes to...more
Trial Court Properly Dismissed Employee’s CFRA And Disability Discrimination Claims -
Choochagi v. Barracuda Networks, Inc., 60 Cal. App. 5th 444 (2021) -
George Choochagi worked as a technical support manager for...more
3/19/2021
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
The California Chamber of Commerce and nearly 200 other organizations joined in a January 13 letter to the Governor and the leadership of the state Senate and Assembly, urging them to stave off a growing exodus of businesses...more
Bank Employee Who Was Harassed By A Customer Can Proceed With Sexual Harassment Claim -
Christian v. Umpqua Bank, 2020 WL 7777882 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Jennifer Christian, a former employee of Umpqua Bank, alleged she was...more
2/1/2021
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
CAFA ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hostile Environment ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Court Affirms $4.26 Million Jury Award For “Self-Published Defamation” -
Tilkey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2020 WL 6268474 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Allstate terminated Michael Tilkey, a 30-year employee who sold life...more
12/3/2020
/ Default Judgment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Forum Selection ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine ,
Labor Code ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trade Secrets ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Starks v. Vortex Indus., Inc., 2020 WL 5015248 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Chad Starks gave notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) of his allegations that his employer (Vortex) had violated certain Labor...more
Arnold v. Dignity Health, 53 Cal. App. 5th 412 (2020) -
Virginia M. Arnold worked as a medical assistant at Dignity Health before her employment was terminated for, among other things, failure to safeguard a patient’s...more
Kec v. Superior Court, 2020 WL 3869721 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) -
Nichole Kec brought individual, class and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims against her employer, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. Kec had signed a...more
Adams v. West Marine Prods., Inc., 958 F.3d 1216 (9th Cir. 2020) -
Adrianne Adams filed a putative wage and hour class action in state court, which her former employer (West Marine) removed to federal court under the...more
Today March 12, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Kim v. Reins Int’l Cal., Inc., holding that an employee’s settlement and dismissal of underlying Labor Code claims does not deprive the...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
Court Upholds Whistleblower Verdicts In Favor Of Fired Parking Ticket Hearing Examiners -
Hawkins v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal. App. 5th 384 (2019) -
Todd Hawkins and Hyung Kim were terminated from their jobs as...more
11/11/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
DFEH ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
FEHA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Code ,
McDonalds ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
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
Eddie Money Beats Discrimination Lawsuit Based On Free Speech Right -
Symmonds v. Mahoney, 31 Cal. App. 5th 1096 (2019) -
After 41 years, singer/songwriter Edward Joseph Mahoney (aka "Eddie Money") terminated the...more
3/18/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Joint Employers ,
On-Call Employees ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
We have reported before about the huge jury verdicts that get handed out in California with alarming regularity and California’s sustained #1 ranking as the “Top Judicial Hellhole” in the nation. A corollary problem continues...more
School Teacher’s ADA Claim Against Catholic School Was Not Barred By “Ministerial Exception”
Biel v. St. James School, 2018 WL 6597221 (9th Cir. 2018) -
Kristen Biel was fired from her fifth grade teaching position at...more
Employee Non-Solicitation Provision Was An Unenforceable Restraint -
AMN Healthcare, Inc. v. Aya Healthcare Servs., Inc., 2018 WL 5669154 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018) -
AMN and Aya are competitors in the business of providing...more
11/20/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attorney's Fees ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
First Amendment ,
Misappropriation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts ,
UTSA ,
Wage and Hour
Supreme Court Bars Mandatory Union Dues For Public Employees -
Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S. ___, 2018 WL 3129785 (2018) -
In a highly anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court held that it is a violation of...more
7/12/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
NLRB ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Newly Enacted California Statutes -
Statewide "Ban-the-Box" Legislation -
Known as "Ban-the-Box" legislation in reference to the box applicants are asked to check if they have any prior criminal convictions, the new...more
11/10/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Ban the Box ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Parental Leave ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Workers Compensation Act ,
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