The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to California employers—employees who’s individual PAGA claims are compelled to arbitration now maintain standing to bring their representative PAGA claims in court. Put simply, an arbitration agreement no longer saves you from a PAGA claim. In doing so, the Court of Appeal, in Galarsa v. Dolgen California, LLC, rejected the United States
As we blogged about late last year, Los Angeles will have a Fair Work Week Ordinance as of April 1, 2023.
This Ordinance only effects retail businesses with over 300 employees “globally” — but that tally includes those employed via staffing firms and franchisees. The Ordinance applies to anyone working for a covered retailer in the City of Los
Good news – employers may now argue that wage statement errors were not “willful” as a defense to wage statement claims.
Not everything from Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc. was bad. While the California Supreme Court unfortunately held (in May 2022) that meal and rest penalties (i.e., premium pay) constitute “wages” for wage statement violations purposes and waiting time
Employers can celebrate a common-sense win for suitable seating PAGA claims—store greeters generally do not need to be provided seating. Last week, a California Superior Court held that even though significant job tasks of greeters require standing (or are done best while standing) and the “majority of tasks performed by greeters can be done while seated,” practical business concerns outweighed
There is lots of buzz lately about a broad sweeping decision by the NLRB that limits the use of Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement provisions in severance agreements. Fox experts Andrew MacDonald and Bob Nagle wrote all about it in this Alert.
It sometimes helps to put the NLRA in context, especially in a state like California that already has a
In another win for California employers, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed itself and ruled that Assembly Bill 51 is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and that California employers may roll out mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
Arbitration is an out-of-court procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties, to
Employers with 100 or more employees are sufficiently familiar with California’s pay data reporting requirements. As of January 1, 2023, the Equal Pay Act was further amended by Senate Bill No. 1162 (“SB 1162”). The California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”), formerly known as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”), recently provided an FAQ to guide employers through the
Hand-signed arbitration agreements will be easier for employers to enforce in light of a recent California Court of Appeal ruling. Declarations from former employees claiming they “do not recall” having signed their arbitration agreements are not evidence that they did not sign and do not carry weight in opposing employers’ motions to compel arbitration, according to the ruling. On the
Employers got a rare win in a regular rate case earlier this month. In Lemm v. Ecolab, Inc., the Second District cemented California’s adoption of the percentage of total earnings bonus exemption to the regular rate for overtime purposes—rejecting the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement Manual’s contrary guidance. The Court held that where Employers use non-exempt employees’ total eligible compensation
The allure of doing business in California is undeniable. It is the world’s fifth (moving towards fourth) largest economy and a market of more than 39 million people. For employers, however, California presents unique challenges because its laws differ significantly from federal laws and those of other states. California employment laws are the most far-reaching in the nation, usually providing
