On August 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court held in OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, S244630, that a mandatory arbitration agreement may be unenforceable against employee wage claims if it requires the employee to forego the “Berman”...more
9/10/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Berman Hearings ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Reversal ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, on May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, No. 17-16096, held that the California Supreme Court's landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc....more
8/21/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
On February 4, 2019, a divided panel of the California Court of Appeal held in Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., No. B280151, that employees scheduled for “on-call” or “call-in” shifts may be entitled to reporting time pay, even when...more
2/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Call-In Pay ,
Class Action ,
Demurrers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IWC ,
Mercantile Industry ,
On-Call Employees ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
In Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, the California Supreme Court recently held that the federal de minimis doctrine does not apply to claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor Code. As a follow-up to our recent...more
10/19/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Commuting ,
Corporate Counsel ,
De Minimis Claims ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Text Messages ,
Timekeeping ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On September 30, 2018, for the final time during his tenure as Governor, Governor Jerry Brown acted on a series of bills passed by the legislature that would have far-reaching consequences for employers. Though employers can...more
10/2/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Board of Directors ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
FEHA ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Woman Board Members
On August 22, 2018, the California Senate voted to approve AB 3080, a bill prompted by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Nominally, the bill is intended to combat the use of mandatory arbitration agreements and...more
8/23/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Governor Brown ,
Harassment ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Personal Liability ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights