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 the 100th anniversary of the Federal Arbitration Act, it is worth recalling that the law was enacted in 1925 in response to what the U.S. Supreme Court later called, in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion,...more
3/27/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment
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
As we reported here, California’s Senate Bill (S.B.) 399, took effect on January 1, 2025. This law prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings about the company’s opinions on political or religious...more
1/21/2025
/ California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), in a 3-1 decision, held that an employee’s display on their work uniform of “BLM,” an acronym for Black Lives Matter, constituted protected concerted activity under Section 7 of...more
2/23/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Black Lives Matter ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Activity ,
Race Relations ,
Section 7 ,
Uniforms
As we reported here, earlier this year, the California Supreme Court confirmed a relaxed standard by which employees can prove whistleblower retaliation under Labor Code section 1102.5 in Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes,...more
The California Court of Appeal has definitively resolved an issue that was until now somewhat ambiguous: Can volunteers in fact volunteer their time for nonprofit organizations without receiving pay or other forms of...more
1/3/2022
/ Appeals ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Class Certification ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour