California Employment News: California Wage Compliance – Avoiding Legal Pitfalls
California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
(Podcast) California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
Adaptive Reuse: From Desks to Doorways
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 514: Listen and Learn -- Discovery (Civ Pro)
A Counterintuitive Approach to Winning Without Litigation: One-on-One with Haley Morrison
(Podcast) California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 511: Listen and Learn -- Landlord/Tenant Law (Part 1)
From Permits to Penalties: A Deep Dive Into Coastal Development Law
California Employment News: Synthesizing Evidence in a Workplace Investigation – Part 3 (Featured)
Doc Fees Decoded: The Price of Paperwork in Auto Sales — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
(Podcast) California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 314: Listen and Learn -- False Imprisonment and Shopkeeper’s Privilege (Torts)
(Podcast) California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
Feeling the Heat: Strategies to Keep Cool Under California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The JustPod: Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing: A Discussion with Hillary Blout
On July 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 648 into law, amending the Labor Code to strengthen protections for employee gratuities. Under the new law, if customer pays a gratuity by credit card, then the business...more
Case Background - A sanitation employee at Golden State Foods Corporation, signed an arbitration agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) at the start of his employment. In 2020, after reporting alleged...more
A recent California Court of Appeal decision provides clarity for employers with commissioned outside sales employees. In Hirdman v. Charter Communications, the court confirmed that employers may calculate paid sick leave for...more
Tips are a trending topic in the news. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, signed into law on July 4, 2025, created a new federal income deduction for tip earnings which raised awareness around tips. Now, California has passed...more
California Governor Newsom recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 648, which authorizes the state’s Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld in violation of the...more
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office, the agency that enforces a wide range of the state’s labor laws, has awarded $8.55 million in grants to 16 local prosecutors to step up enforcement of labor laws. This funding, part...more
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court provided helpful guidance on whistleblower retaliation cases. The Court of Appeal addressed who is a prevailing party entitled to fee and cost recovery...more
Every day, the press reports on arrests for one reason or another in California and other states. Many of those arrested have jobs. In turn, the employers of the arrestees in California are confronted with a dilemma: on the...more
Retaliation Verdict Reversed Where Plaintiff Obtained No Relief - Can an employee prove retaliation at trial yet still recover nothing – not even attorney’s fees? According to a recent decision from the California Court of...more
The California Court of Appeal issued an important decision clarifying that an employee cannot recover damages for a defamation claim that is derivative of a wrongful termination claim. Defamation causes of action are often...more
The Second District Court of Appeal held that, under the pre-reform PAGA statute, an individual employee need not have been employed or experienced a Labor Code violation during the one-year PAGA limitations period to have...more
In a significant win for employers, the California Court of Appeal recently affirmed that prospective, revocable meal period waivers for shifts between five and six hours are lawful under both the Labor Code and applicable...more
In a surprisingly employer-friendly decision, the California Court of Appeal recently held that voluntary, prospective written meal waivers for shorter shifts, i.e., those that are more than five but no more than six hours in...more
A California Court of Appeal recently held that an employee bringing a claim under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) must be able to allege that he personally suffered a Labor Code violation within the applicable...more
On April 21, 2025, a California Court of Appeal affirmed the validity of prospective, written meal period waivers, so long as they are revocable and not coerced. The case, La Kimba Bradsbery et al. v. Vicar Operating,...more
In a decision with important implications for many pending Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuits, a California Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of a representative PAGA action as untimely because the plaintiff did...more
What is a “blanket” or “prospective” meal period waiver? California employers can offer non-exempt employees the opportunity to (1) waive their first meal period if their work period does not exceed six hours or (2) waive...more
PAGA claims brought under pre-reform PAGA must be brought within one year of a Labor Code violation experienced by the plaintiff and because a PAGA claim necessarily has both an individual and a non-individual component,...more
The California Labor Code generally requires that employers provide meal periods to non-exempt employees working more than five hours. However, the Labor Code provides that meal periods can be waived by agreement of the...more
In a significant ruling for employers, the California Court of Appeal has validated the use of “prospective” meal period waivers, allowing workers to voluntarily waive their meal breaks in advance, under certain conditions....more
The proliferation of wage and hour litigation in California and recent significant changes to the law have created uncertainty for employers and their lawyers alike. Both recent PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act of 2004)...more
California often finds itself at the forefront of labor and employment law, with changes affecting employers each year. This year is no different. In 2025, employers can expect a variety of impactful changes to the...more
The recent Barahona v. ABM Janitorial Services (2024) 53 CWCR 4, decision sheds light on a common but often misunderstood issue in California workers’ compensation: how liability is shared among multiple employers and...more
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 recent changes to California’s wage and hour laws have significant implications for employers operating within the state. While the reforms are aimed at providing clearer guidelines for employers, there are still complex...more