The U.S. Supreme Court issued two blockbuster decisions last week, both of which likely will curtail the ability of federal agencies, including the NLRB, to prosecute cases and expand the law.
In a 6-3 decision announced...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Jury Trial ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Seventh Amendment
As we’ve discussed previously (see here and here), next up on the NLRB chopping block is whether non-compete agreements create a “chilling effect” on employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights of the National Labor...more
This week a Los Angeles jury awarded a plaintiff nearly $1 billion in damages for workplace sexual assault. The defendant, billionaire Alkiviades David, suffered a staggering loss when a Los Angeles Superior Court jury doled...more
With the sweeping presence of technology today, the boundary between work life and home life has become increasingly blurred. A new bill recently introduced to the California legislature seeks to change that by protecting...more
On March 29, 2024, the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released a final rule amending the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”), clarifying who can serve as an...more
Declaring the NLRB’s rationale to be “nonsense,” on March 26, 2024, a unanimous three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Stern Produce Company Inc v. NLRB, refused to enforce...more
4/1/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EEO ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Surveillance ,
Unfair Labor Practices
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
1/17/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Burden of Proof ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Expert Testimony ,
Harassment ,
New Legislation ,
Psychiatrists ,
Retaliation ,
Wrongful Termination
As we recently discussed, the National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB”) monumental ruling in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, 327 NLRB No. 130 (2023), is going to have a significant impact on the manner in which...more
9/28/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cemex ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
NLRB ,
Retroactive Application ,
Secret Ballot ,
Termination ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
In a very active end of summer for labor law, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) ruled in a 2-1 decision, in Quickway Transportation, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 127, that a company’s closure of a terminal where its drivers...more
As we previously reported in April 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, asked the Board to revive the Joy Silk doctrine (which was rejected in 1969) and require...more
Late summer brings picnics, hiking, and general fun. It also brings a slew of NLRB decisions as the agency’s fiscal year comes to an end on September 30. One of the more highly-anticipated decisions concerns the lawfulness of...more
Late summer brings picnics, hiking, and general fun. It also brings a slew of NLRB decisions as the agency’s fiscal year comes to an end on September 30. One of the more highly-anticipated decisions concerns the lawfulness of...more
On July 17, 2023, approximately one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Viking River Cruises, the California Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies. The Court...more
7/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
California ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Viking River Cruises ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana
As we previously covered here, the State of California and select California cities increased the minimum wage effective January 1, 2023. Now, another round of minimum wage increases from a dozen localities will take effect...more
Back in the “good old days,” arbitration agreements barred just about any type of civil litigation that was filed in court. Then, as we reported in 2014, the California Supreme Court determined that Private Attorneys General...more
Following the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) highly-controversial decision in McLaren Macomb declaring most confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in separation agreements to be unlawful, General Counsel...more
On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued a decision making it riskier and more complicated for employers to discipline employees for abusive workplace conduct alleged to have arisen within the context of...more
The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued a ruling on February 21, 2023, in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), which in effect finds broad confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements...more
A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirmed a federal district court’s decision to vacate part of a rule issued by the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) in 2019 that...more
The federal court for the Northern District of California recently declined to dismiss a former Al Jazeera International employee’s constructive wrongful termination claim against the news outlet, finding that requiring an...more
National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel (“GC”) Jennifer Abruzzo stated over a year ago that 10(j) injunctions in NLRB charges were “one of the most important tools available to effectively enforce the...more
For more than five decades, employers could cease deduction of dues at the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement as a legitimate economic weapon. It was only recently that, as part of the constant shifting of...more
As we previously reported here, in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. v. Bonta, 13 F.4th 766 (9th Cir. 2021), a three member panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected California Labor Code Section 432.6, which...more
The California Secretary of State announced on July 22, 2022 that a measure to replace the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) qualified as an eligible statewide ballot measure for the...more
As of Friday, July 1, non-hotel employers with full-time employees in West Hollywood must provide up to 96 hours of compensated time off (“CTO”) each year. (Part-time West Hollywood employees must receive a prorated number of...more