The Chartwell Chronicles: Employment Law
Managing the Size and Structure of Your Post-Pandemic Workforce
#WorkforceWednesday: OSHA ETS on Hold, Retaliation Claims Increase, "Vaccination Ambassadors" - Employment Law This Week®
A California jury did it again! Last Thursday, a Los Angeles jury awarded $27.5 million to a former chief nursing officer of a hospital for the alleged post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological problems she...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
A California appeals court has upheld a $5 million award in favor of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and against the owner of a 12-story, Virgin-brand hotel in San Francisco. Whiting-Turner agreed to construct the hotel...more
METRC, Inc., the predominant provider of seed-to-sale tracking software used by state regulatory bodies overseeing legal cannabis markets across the U.S., faces serious allegations detailed in a recent lawsuit filed in...more
Employees who sue their former employer for wrongful termination following a workplace investigation may feel compelled to bring a claim for defamation, based on their belief that the allegations and/or investigation findings...more
In Rodriguez v. Lawrence Equipment, Inc., Case No. B325261 (Nov. 8, 2024), the California Court of Appeal held that an employee who loses their Labor Code claims in an individual arbitration no longer has standing to pursue a...more
Employers wanting to create a more equitable and legally compliant workplace while also reducing their risk of litigation may want to pay particular attention to the California Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Wawrzenski....more
The First Amendment permits employers engaged in artistic expression to disassociate from employees who make inflammatory statements, Disney argued in a recent motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gina Carano, an actress in...more
A newly enacted, under-the-radar statute in California could undermine efforts by employers to challenge the expert opinion testimony regarding alleged emotional distress offered by employees at trial. In many if not most...more
A key issue that staffing agencies often face in litigation is whether the end of a temporary work assignment constitutes a “discharge” of the employee’s employment with the staffing agency. In a favorable ruling for staffing...more
No Claim By Employee Who Was Friends With Alleged Harasser Atalla v. Rite Aid Corp., 2023 WL 2521909 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023) - Hanin Atalla and Erik Lund had a social relationship and became “close friends” before Atalla...more
A California court has ruled that an arbitrator (not a judge) should decide on the applicability of California Labor Code Section 925 to a dispute between a law firm partner and his former law firm. Zhang v. Superior Court,...more
On October 20, 2022, the Ninth Circuit reversed in part a grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer, finding that the district court misapplied the substantive law of California in holding that Plaintiff’s disclosures...more