In many of the U.S.’s most congested cities, ridesharing is a way of life because owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. Among frequent riders, many use Uber and Lyft apps interchangeably depending on driver availability...more
10/23/2018
/ Drivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Mobile Apps ,
Netflix ,
Ridesharing ,
Spotify ,
Subscribers ,
Subscription Services
The Supreme Court term that wrapped up in June was one of the most exciting sessions for workplace law in recent memory, with several blockbuster decisions impacting a wide range of labor and employment law issues. From...more
10/5/2018
/ Age Discrimination ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gender Identity ,
Independent Contractors ,
Public Sector ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Pick a favorite flavor, abandon all beach body goals, and disregard whether it’s anyone’s birthday: the 2017-2018 Supreme Court term saw employers having their cake and eating it, too (with only a few minor exceptions)....more
8/1/2018
/ Artis v District of Columbia ,
Brett Kavanaugh ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Hamer v Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump v Hawaii
Late yesterday, President Trump selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) bench. Assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, Justice Kavanaugh would solidify the pro-business bloc of...more
A California federal jury recently decided that Emerson Electric Company owes prefabricated module manufacturer BladeRoom Group Limited $30 million in damages for stealing trade secrets to build a massive new data...more
5/16/2018
/ Breach of Contract ,
Damages ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lost Profits ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Popular ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts ,
Unjust Enrichment
The Supreme Court today handed auto dealerships—especially those on the west coast—a long-awaited 5-4 victory by holding that service advisors are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime-pay requirement because...more
4/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Congressional Intent ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Legislative History ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Reversal ,
Salespersons ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Statutory Construction Test ,
Wage and Hour
Call it ironic, but even providers of legal services are targets for pay equity litigation. Case in point: a $300 million dollar class action lawsuit filed against a labor and employment law firm in the U.S. District Court...more
1/22/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Job Applicants ,
Law Firm Associates ,
Law Firm Ownership ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retaliation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Underpayment ,
Wage and Hour
While you can debate all you want about whether 1988’s Die Hard is a Christmas movie (it is – don’t fight us on this point), you can’t disagree with the fact that the movie depicts one of the all-time most memorable office...more
12/5/2017
/ Best Practices ,
Business Invitees ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Holiday Gifts ,
Holiday Parties ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wine & Alcohol
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of “day of rest” claims brought by two former hourly employees against retail giant Nordstrom. The court determined that the employees were not...more
10/6/2017
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Former Employee ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Nordstrom Inc. ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
When it rains, it pours. If you think back roughly nine years ago, at the crippling height of the economic downturn, employers were laying off workers en masse across all industries. Fast forward to 2017, and they can’t get...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. July was no different,...more
8/2/2017
/ Ashley Madison ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Records ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
GrubHub ,
Joint Employers ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Disability Leave Law ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
San Francisco ,
Settlement ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Uber ,
Updated Forms
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has just added two new employment ordinances to the burgeoning list of employment-related ordinances in the City by the Bay. First, the Parity in Pay Ordinance prohibits employers from...more
7/21/2017
/ Breastfeeding ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Gap ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
San Francisco ,
Undue Hardship ,
Wage and Hour
We’ve entered a new era of acceptance when it comes to the legally permitted use of marijuana. As of today, 28 states have legalized medical use of the drug, and eight states permit its recreational use. With over half of the...more
6/9/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Workplace Safety ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court held today in a 6 to 2 decision that “structured dismissals” resolving Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings cannot deviate from the Bankruptcy Code’s priority scheme without the consent of the affected...more
3/23/2017
/ Absolute Priority Rule ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Czyzewski v Jevic Holding Corp ,
Priority Debt ,
Priority Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Structured Dismissals ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
Pay equity issues have already dealt a one-two punch to employers early in 2017: first a lawsuit brought against an automotive giant, and then a million-dollar settlement between another employer and a group of its workers....more
Late yesterday, President Trump selected Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) bench. Assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, Justice Gorsuch would occupy a critical position on the Court,...more
We are not yet through the first month of the New Year, but pay equity lawsuits have already dealt a one-two punch to employers: “one” being a million-dollar settlement between a legal and business research company and its...more
On September 30, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Wage and Equality Act of 2016 (SB 1063) into law, which will prohibit employers from paying employees of one race or ethnicity a lower wage than employees of...more
On September 12, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act of 2016 (AB 1066) into law, providing more stringent overtime protections for agricultural workers. California law...more
On Monday, July 25, 2016, the Fresno County Superior Court denied a request to postpone the deadline for qualified employers to notify the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) of their election to participate in the...more