Category: Employment Litigation

In the year since California lawmakers approved a new paid sick leave law, legislators and state authorities have spent a lot of time trying to explain what the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act means to employees and employers. The confusion prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to sign another measure to amend the law to provide further…

State and federal employment officials and regulators often take pains to walk a very fine line when discussing the use of contracted-for labor by companies across the country. On the one hand, they appear to acknowledge and support the need for an at-the-ready independent contractor pool, knowing that it lends flexibility to business managers, keeps…

The below-described entertainment litigation imbroglio has a close and obvious nexus to Los Angeles, given the film industry’s central association with the city, which is flatly unparalleled elsewhere. By happenstance, though, the venue that most formally features in a tale involving multiple allegations of wrongdoing and claims for damages that are well in excess of $100…

The Private Attorney General Act, or PAGA, allows an aggrieved employee to act as if they are the state in an attempt to make claims for recovery of civil penalties for Labor Code violations. Claims under this Act essentially substitute the plaintiff for a state labor law enforcement agency and give the plaintiff similar rights…

Company principals in all California industries are daily focused on multiple opportunities and challenges across every conceivable work-related sphere. Here’s an elevated concern: workplace-linked domestic violence. That subject matter is virtually guaranteed to make any business owner or manager wince. Employee violence — both its commission and its sad effects visited upon a victim —…

Since California’s passage of AB5, several lawsuits have arisen that challenge the law, with others testing its limits and impact. More recently, California has begun its attempts to enforce the law by targeting Uber and Lyft. In May, California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco County Superior Court alleging Uber and Lyft misclassify…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has made changes to the hours of service (HOS) regulations. They state that the purpose is to give drivers more flexibility while maintaining safety standards. The new regulations passed on June 1, 2020, and go into effect on September 29, 2020.  Overview of changes The changes apply to the following…

While COVID continues to impact every part of society, businesses continue to struggle with how to operate safely. A major part of this consideration is keeping staff safe as and after they return. One concern for businesses in doing so is whether they’ll face liability if staff members become infected at work, an issue governments…

It’s a win-win scenario, right? That fitness tracking apparatus that you agreed to wear on your wrist at the request of your employer is proving to be a real ally in helping you understand relevant health-related numbers. Truly, of course, not that many workers are yet strapping on those little mobile tech tools, but enough…

You need me, and I need you. In a nutshell, and in fundamental terms, that preceding sentence just about sums up the essentials of the important employer/employee relationship in California. And given its reality and symbiotic nature, one might reasonably think that relations between managers and workers across the state are routinely informed by fair…

Two ranking members of the U.S. Department of Labor recently discussed workplace retaliation against employees who file wage-related complaints, sending this strong and unequivocal message to employers in California and elsewhere across the country: Don’t do it. In fact, don’t even entertain the thought, say the writers, because employer retaliation in the realm of wage-and-hour matters is…

The “ban the box ” campaign is a national push to prohibit employers from asking prospective employees about their criminal records during the early stages of the hiring process.  Twelve states, as well as 70 cities and counties, have implemented “ban the box” legislation. California joined these states in late 2013 with AB 218. Under AB…

he debate rages on. Title VII of the seminal Civil Rights Act passed by Congress in 1964 extended workplace protections against discrimination on myriad grounds. Notably, protection for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was not included in the list of safeguarded categories, and that continues to be the case today. A recent article…

In the workplace, and as regards the interaction between employers and employees, the relationship is symbiotic. That is, each side needs the other and engages in a balancing act of give and take. Labor exchanged for wages. Time for food. It’s an interesting phenomenon, isn’t it? And while it is certainly true that both sides…