Governor Newsom, in partnership with legislative leadership and business and labor groups, announced an agreement to reform the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA. The proposed agreement includes sweeping changes to...more
Mattioda v. Nelson, 98 F.4th 1164 (9th Cir. 2024) - Summary: Disability-based harassment claims are available under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act....more
5/10/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Contract ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Labor Code ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Stock Options ,
Title VII ,
Wages
The Question - The basics of California’s wage statement requirements should be familiar to employers. The consequences for failing to comply with these requirements can be severe....more
Summary - To qualify as a transportation worker for purposes of the FAA, an employee’s relationship to the movement of goods must be sufficiently close enough to conclude that the employee’s work plays a tangible and...more
Summary -
Emergency Rule 9, which tolled statutes of limitations for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is valid and operates to extend the time to file a civil suit for a PAGA claim as well as the time period to...more
9/22/2023
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
FEHA ,
Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Remand ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
A plaintiff maintains standing to pursue a non-individual PAGA claim in state court when his individual PAGA claim is sent to arbitration pursuant to an arbitration agreement...more
Recent developments in the California Court of Appeal could impact pending or future Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation.
Though many employers anxiously await a decision in the pending California Supreme Court...more
Meda v. AutoZone Inc., No. B311398, 2022 WL 2813819 (Cal. Ct. App. July 19, 2022) -
Summary: Where an employer has not expressly advised its employees that they may use a seat during their work and does not place seats at...more
Viking River Cruises Inc. v. Moriana, 142 S.Ct. 1906 (2022) -
Summary: The FAA “preempts the rule of Iskanian insofar as it precludes division of Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") actions into individual and...more
On May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., holding unpaid meal and rest break premiums can give rise to derivative claims for waiting time...more
Summary: Good-faith dispute about employment status of freelancer who modeled in sporadic one- or two-day increments precluded imposition of waiting-time penalties pursuant to Labor Code section 203. ...more
5/17/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
DePuy Synthes Sales Inc. v. Howmedica Osteonics Corp., 28 F.4th 956 (9th Cir. 2022) -
Summary: Motion to transfer venue was properly denied where forum-selection clause in employment agreement was void under California...more
Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., 12 Cal. 5th 703 (2022) -
Summary: Labor Code section 1102.6, not McDonnell Douglas, provides the standard for evaluating whistleblower retaliation claims under Labor Code...more
Gunther v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 72 Cal. App. 5th 334 (2021) -
Summary: Heightened civil penalties under Labor Code section 226.3 ($250 & $1,000) do not apply to all violations of section 226, only when the employer...more
Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, No. 20-15291, 2021 WL 4187860 (9th Cir. Sep. 15, 2021) -
Summary: The FAA does not preempt Labor Code section 432.6’s prohibition of mandatory employment arbitration agreements, but does...more
Zuniga v. Alexandria Care Ctr., LLC, 67 Cal. App. 5th 871 (2021)
Summary: An expert may rely on inadmissible evidence to form an opinion if the source is reliable.
Facts: Plaintiff Rosalinda Zuniga was employed by...more
This morning, in its decision in Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta, No. 20-15291, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a January 2020 preliminary injunction against enforcement of AB 51, a 2019 California law effectively...more
Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, No. S259172, 2021 WL 2965438 (Cal. Jul. 15, 2021)
Summary: The term “regular rate of compensation” under California Labor Code section 226.7 is synonymous with the term “regular rate...more
8/11/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rate of Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Reversing a court of appeal decision that had been welcome news for employers, the California Supreme Court held today in Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, S259172, that the term “regular rate of compensation,” used for...more
Levanoff v. Dragas, Nos. G058480, G058709, 2021 WL 2621360 (Cal. Ct. App. June 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employer did not violate California law by selecting a method of calculating the regular rate of pay that most benefitted...more
On May 28, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed Walmart a groundbreaking win in a wage-and-hour class and California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA") action. Reversing a nearly $102 million...more
California Trucking Association v. Bonta, No. 20-55106, 2021 WL 1656283 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021) -
Summary : The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt the “ABC test” for determining whether a...more
5/12/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Donohue v. AMN Services., LLC, No. S253677, 2021 WL 728871 (Cal. Feb. 25, 2021) -
Summary: Employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context.
Time records that show...more
International Brotherhood. of Teamsters, Local 2785 v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration No. 18-73488, 2021 WL 139728 (9th Cir. Jan. 15, 2021) -
Summary: Federal law preempts California’s meal and rest break...more
2/12/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FMCSA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wage and Hour
Summary: Employers have a duty to investigate the accuracy of any criminal conviction report prior to terminating an employee on the basis of such information where there is evidence that the report may be incorrect. ...more
11/13/2020
/ Absenteeism ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Judgment As A Matter Of Law ,
Labor Code ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination