Here’s a comprehensive list of the new employment-related statutes enacted and signed into law in the Golden State (effective Jan. 1, 2020 unless otherwise specified)...more
10/15/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Bias ,
Breastfeeding ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
DFEH ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
On Thursday, October 10, 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law several new measures that employers will need to comply with by January 1, 2020 and that will generally make it easier for employees to sue their...more
10/14/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Governor Newsom ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
California Supreme Court Invalidates Agreement To Arbitrate Wage Disputes -
OTO, LLC v. Kho, 2019 WL 4065524 (Cal. S. Ct. 2019) -
In the most recent chapter of the ongoing saga regarding the enforceability of...more
9/18/2019
/ Amended Complaints ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-SLAPP ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Bill Cosby ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CAFA ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Defamation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Free Speech ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Obesity ,
Race Discrimination ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vicarious Liability ,
Wage and Hour
Yesterday September 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court held that private litigants may not recover unpaid wages under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). See ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court (Lawson) (Cal....more
9/16/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
It’s springtime in California! Even as the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, the California legislature is busy, busy, busy passing 100s of new laws because, after all, you can never get too much of a good thing!...more
There they go again! As we predicted last November, the California legislature is once again trying to outlaw arbitration agreements between employers and employees. Former Gov. Jerry Brown routinely vetoed similar bills that...more
A San Diego jury awarded that amount to a former employee who claimed he was wrongfully terminated based on his arrest record and then defamed.
Michael Tilkey worked for Allstate Insurance for 30 years and was fired from...more
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partner Tony Oncidi and senior counsel Harris Mufson discuss key developments in California employment law, including a new test to determine whether workers are independent contractors...more
6/5/2018
/ #MeToo ,
ABC Test ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Podcasts ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Standard of Review ,
State Labor Laws
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employers can require employees to arbitrate disputes with the employer individually and waive their right to pursue or...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
Jury panels in the Los Angeles Superior Court (which is often referred to as “The Bank” by the plaintiffs’ bar) have recently delivered multimillion-dollar verdicts to former-employee plaintiffs. Many employers doing business...more
9/5/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Punitive Damages ,
Wrongful Termination
We recently blogged about Governor Brown signing S.B. 1241, which is now codified as Section 925 of the California Labor Code. The law, which affects venue and choice of law provisions in agreements entered into as a...more
10/28/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Forum Selection ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Venue
We recently blogged about Governor Brown signing S.B. 1241, which is now codified as Section 925 of the California Labor Code. The law, which affects venue and choice of law provisions in agreements entered into as a...more
10/26/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Forum Selection ,
New Legislation ,
Venue
In recent years, some employers doing business in the Golden State have required their employees to sign arbitration and employment agreements that require the employee to sue or arbitrate in – or under the law of – another...more
Proskauer's Labor and Employment Law Department released its Value Insights: Delivering Value in Labor and Employment Law survey, a resource that illuminates current practices and future trends in managing labor and...more
5/23/2016
/ Alternative Fee Arrangements ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Harassment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Race Discrimination ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Surveys
The latest legislative session has just ended, and, true to form, the California Legislature has added more than a dozen new laws affecting employers doing business in the nation’s largest state. These statutes are in...more
10/21/2015
/ Accrual Method ,
Anti-Pay Secrecy ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Change in Control ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Discrimination ,
E-Verify ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Enforcement ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Brown ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act 2014 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Liability ,
Labor Commissioners ,
Labor Standards Enforcement ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Piece-Rate Pay ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Protected Activity ,
Protected Class ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retaliation ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Substantially Similar ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment ,
Wage Statements ,
Whistleblowers
It is no secret that California is no friend to arbitration agreements. As the United States Supreme Court noted in its 2011 opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, “California’s courts have been more likely to hold...more
8/26/2015
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Job Applicants ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Waivers