Employers have long been scrutinized for perceived unequal bargaining power when it comes to enforcement of company-drafted arbitration agreements. Indeed, both the California legislature and the courts have aimed to protect...more
7/15/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
False Statements ,
Human Resources Professionals
The case of Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation Services LTD., LLC typifies the reason employers and employment counsel must stay on top of arbitration case developments....more
4/1/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws
Since its enactment in 2019, Code of Civil Procedure 1281.98, which governs arbitration fee payments, has been inviolate: arbitrators do not have the unilateral power to extend the fee payment deadline; “checks in the mail”...more
In 2016, the city of Los Angeles passed the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO). Preempting California’s Fair Chance Act (FCA) by nearly two years, the FCIHO prohibits private employers operating in the city...more
1/3/2025
/ Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities
California law has long held that an employer’s good faith dispute over wages owed, if any, to its employees will preclude the imposition of “waiting time” penalties otherwise due following the termination of their...more
Live events are part and parcel of California’s landscape. From Coachella to county fairs, thousands of workers each year participate in setting up and tearing down the infrastructure at these public event venues....more
California has a habit of finding creative ways to protect employees from potential instances of discrimination or retaliation, no matter how remote. ...more
12/5/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
Political Speech ,
Preemption ,
Religious Expression ,
State Labor Laws
Since its enactment, California courts have universally established the California Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.97 et seq., which governs the timely payment of fees in arbitration, allows no room for error....more
7/31/2024
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Fees ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Preemption ,
Safe Harbors ,
State Arbitration Acts ,
Statutory Deadlines ,
Statutory Interpretation
Over the last decade, the use of e-signatures has become the norm for human resources departments when onboarding new employees. The advent of resources like DocuSign, Taleo, BabooHR, and others have made this process simple,...more
Employee claims of retaliation in the workplace have been on an upward trend since the California Legislature amended Labor Code section 1102.5 to include protections for whistleblower complaints made directly to a person...more
In law school, aspiring attorneys are taught fundamental concepts related to contracts, including “agency”, “third party beneficiary”, and “equitable estoppel”, terms which relate to determining who should be subject to the...more
Until recently, employers had the luxury of interpreting the outside salesperson exemption to minimum wage, overtime and meal and rest period requirements at face value. This is because the definition of an “outside...more
4/4/2023
/ Control Test ,
Costco ,
DLSE ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exemptions ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Salespersons ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Effective January 1, 2023, Senate Bill 1044 will prohibit employers from taking or threatening adverse action against any employee for refusing to report to, or leaving, a workplace or worksite during an “emergency condition”...more
Among other protections and rights, employees are entitled to the use of suitable seats when the “nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats” pursuant to the Industrial Welfare Commission’s Wage Orders. As...more
In the words of Tom Cruise’s character Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men, “the hits keep on coming.” This quote crystallizes how California employers will undoubtedly feel following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in...more
6/2/2022
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Code ,
Pre-Judgment Interest ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Businesses and attorneys alike have kept a close eye on the developments surrounding the challenge to California Assembly Bill 51 (now codified as Labor Code section 432.6). Most recently, in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit...more
12/28/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Labor Laws
Since 2019, California employers have relied on Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, 40 Cal.App.5th 1239, for the proposition that only hourly wages would be used to calculate “premium pay” for meal or rest breaks under Labor...more
7/20/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Premium Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
As technology has advanced, employers routinely rely on electronic timekeeping software to ensure accurate record keeping. Such software often includes a setting to round employees’ time (typically to the nearest quarter...more
5/10/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour