A closely watched class and collective action against the HR management services company Workday, Inc. reached a new milestone recently, when the Northern District of California conditionally certified Age Discrimination in...more
6/12/2025
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Job Applicants ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions
As we reported here, a split in authority has developed in the California Court of Appeal regarding what to do when an employer moves to compel arbitration of a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that is “headless”—that is,...more
As we have reported time and again, California courts have applied extra scrutiny to employee arbitration agreements in recent years, and have not hesitated to deny arbitration where there is a reasonable basis for doing so. ...more
4/2/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
On February 26, 2025, in Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation, Inc., the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District) issued the latest published decision addressing the practice of filing so-called “headless”...more
The California Court of Appeal recently reminded employers in an unpublished (but nonetheless chastening) opinion of the importance of carefully drafting arbitration agreements. In Pich v. LaserAway, LLC et al, the court...more
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
As 2024 came to a close, yet another California jury delivered a massive award to an individual plaintiff in an employment discrimination case. This time, it was an award of over $11 million by a San Diego jury to a medical...more
On November 8, 2024, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) voted 4-1 to proceed with formal rulemaking regarding automated decision-making technology (“ADMT”), which the draft regulations define as “any technology...more
11/26/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audits ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Bias ,
California ,
California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employment Policies ,
Opt-Outs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Software
The California Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) recently refreshed its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims processing in light of the recent legislative reforms....more
On June 27, 2024, the California Legislature passed AB 2288 and SB 92, compromise legislation that reformed the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and averted a ballot measure that threatened to repeal the law entirely this...more
On June 27, 2024, by near-unanimous vote, the California Legislature passed two bills enacting much-needed reform to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). We previously reported on the legislative compromise last week,...more
7/2/2024
/ Anti-Stacking Provisions ,
Audits ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations
Inspired by a push to repeal the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) by ballot measure (which we previously covered here and here), and at the urging of Governor Gavin Newsom, stakeholders have reached an agreement in...more
As readers may know, California requires private employers of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the Civil Rights...more
As we wrote previously, last summer’s blockbuster decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 14 Cal. 5th 1104 (2023) contained a notable silver lining. In ruling that a Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) plaintiff’s...more
On July 17, 2023, approximately one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Viking River Cruises, the California Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies. The Court...more
7/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
Last week, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers are not liable to nonemployees who contract COVID-19 from employee household members that bring the virus home from their workplace, because “[a]n...more
The so-called “Fight for 15” – those widespread protests for a $15 minimum wage – are so passé now! As of July 1, 2023, West Hollywood takes the crown for the highest mandated minimum wage in the United States at $19.08. Why...more
As we have written here on multiple occasions, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) disadvantages employers in several ways. Despite permitting recovery similar to what might be obtained in a class action, class...more
On May 10, 2023, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a closely watched case that will decide whether a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff loses standing to pursue...more
In the first ruling of its kind, the California Court of Appeal (4th Dist.) recently ruled that a plaintiff may pursue penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for alleged violations of California’s sick pay...more
Earlier this month, the California Court of Appeal (2d Dist.) ruled that issue preclusion bars a derivative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim where the plaintiff litigates individual Labor Code claims in arbitration...more
2/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
California ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
U-Haul ,
Viking River Cruises