According to the Los Angeles Times, a retiring “prison supervising dentist” became a millionaire overnight when the state paid him $1.2 million for unused vacation benefits that he had been accruing for decades. This mammoth...more
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
On April 7, 2025, the California Court of Appeal reversed a whopping $10 million verdict in favor of an employee in a sexual harassment case due to the trial judge’s improper evidentiary rulings and inappropriate comments...more
4/14/2025
/ Appeals ,
California ,
Damages ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment
We invite you to review our newly-posted, March 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
4/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
CAFA ,
California ,
Defamation ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
FEHA ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sexual Harassment ,
USPS ,
Wage and Hour
Although the threat of COVID-19 (remember that?) seems to have diminished considerably over the past five years, once upon a time in Hollywood many production companies (along with other employers) required employees to be...more
4/1/2025
/ Actors ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
First Amendment ,
Vaccinations
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
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
In late 2023, California supersized the minimum wage for fast food workers by a whopping 25 percent (increasing it from $16 to $20). This law was opposed by the fast food industry, while labor unions (and their many friends...more
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
We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....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
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has released updated guidance clarifying how the state’s latest statutory enactments will impact employers’ paid sick leave obligations. Specifically, as we reported...more
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
Unbowed and unbroken, California continues to work toward creating that Workers’ Paradise in the Sun, and this legislative session did not disappoint! Here are the latest new laws that will take effect by the first of the...more
It’s not like we didn’t tell you so, cuz we did! Just last year, we predicted that the latest assault on employer arbitration rights had the potential to destroy arbitration everywhere in the country. Is Arbitration Becoming...more
We invite you to review our newly-posted September 2024 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more
10/1/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
EEO ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fraudulent Concealment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Retaliation ,
Slurs ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Uber ,
Unions
Erika Paleny alleged harassment, discrimination and retaliation after informing her manager that she would be undergoing oocyte retrieval procedures so she could donate and freeze her eggs for her potential use at some...more
Last month, in Jane Doe v. Alkiviades David, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned a verdict in a sexual assault and harassment case in the amount of $900 million. This verdict is one of the largest ever for a...more
8/9/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Jury Instructions ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Chevron announced on Friday its plans to relocate its headquarters from Northern California to Houston, Texas. Chevron first began doing business in California nearly 150 years ago in 1879 with the incorporation of the...more
Employee Who Wanted To Donate/Freeze Her Eggs Was Not Protected By Pregnancy Statute -
Paleny v. Fireplace Products U.S., Inc., 103 Cal. App. 5th 199 (2024) -
Erika Paleny alleged harassment, discrimination and...more
8/1/2024
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Fraud ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Lyft ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Whistleblowers
For the past 40 years, federal administrative agencies have enjoyed broad latitude in interpreting statutes passed by Congress. Known as “Chevron deference,” courts have routinely deferred to the agencies’ often politically...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
The Empire Struck Back last week when the California Court of Appeal held that the state’s latest back-door attempt to outlaw employment arbitration by any means necessary is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). ...more