Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt, 143 Superior Court 677 (2023) -
Summary -
Employee was eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) because his “daily-rate” plan did not satisfy...more
After more than three years of litigation, the Ninth Circuit has held that AB 51, California’s attempt to ban mandatory employment arbitration agreements, is unenforceable....more
Summary -
Where an employer can and does track the exact time in minutes that its employees work each shift, and those records show that employees were not paid for all the time they worked, neutral time rounding is not a...more
12/8/2022
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
FMCSA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retroactivity ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour
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
In a decision employers across California have been waiting for since December (see our initial article on this issue), the United States Supreme Court held this morning in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, that the...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
Welcome to the first edition of a new series, “Case in Point.” During these short videos, we’ll recap several of the key employment cases from the last few months and discuss what they mean for employers in California.
In...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
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held today that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) does not preempt application of California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), codified as amended at Labor...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
Shirvanyan v. Los Angeles Community. College District, No. B296593, 2020 WL 7706321 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2020) -
The availability of a reasonable accommodation is an element of a claim under the Fair Employment and...more
1/11/2021
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FEHA ,
Interactive Process ,
Preemption ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers Compensation Act
Semprini v. Wedbush Securities., Inc., 57 Cal. App. 5th 246 (2020) -
Summary: A compensation plan based solely on commissions, with recoverable advances on future commissions, does not qualify as “salary” for purposes of...more
12/14/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Business & Professions Code ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Wage and Hour
A growing number of state and local governments across the country are enacting laws that limit employers’ ability to ask about or consider applicants’ salary history. These laws are part of a nationwide effort to reduce pay...more
2/20/2020
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay Act ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Preemption ,
Race Discrimination ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Split of Authority ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws
Ridgeway v. Wal-Mart, Inc., 946 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2020) -
The employer must pay minimum wages to employees for time spent on mandated layovers where the employer’s policy imposes constraints on employees’ movements...more
2/12/2020
/ Administrative Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
FEHA ,
Jury Trial ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
Police ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Preemption ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Reversal ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
On January 31, 2020, Judge Kimberly Mueller issued a preliminary injunction "in full" preventing the State of California from enforcing AB 51, the state's new law effectively banning mandatory employee arbitration...more
2/5/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
DFEH ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State Bans ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
In Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, the California Supreme Court recently held that the federal de minimis doctrine does not apply to claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor Code. As a follow-up to our recent...more
10/19/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Commuting ,
Corporate Counsel ,
De Minimis Claims ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Preemption ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rounding ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Text Messages ,
Timekeeping ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour