On May 8, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued an important ruling interpreting California’s long-standing “day of rest” law. At issue was whether that law, which requires that employers provide employees one day of rest each week, applies on a work week basis, or if it applies on a rolling seven-day basis. In a unanimous … Continue Reading
On April 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in McGill v. Citibank, once again striking out against arbitration agreements – this time declining to enforce a provision in a credit card account agreement which prevented the cardholder from bringing a claim for an injunction on behalf of the general public. The legal focus … Continue Reading
Adding to an existing split among the federal appeals courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on March 8, 2017 that employees who make internal reports about suspected violations of the federal securities laws and other anti-fraud statutes are covered by the “whistleblower” protections of the Dodd-Frank Act (Dodd-Frank), even if … Continue Reading
On January 20, the United States Supreme Court denied a motion for certiorari filed by CLS Transportation which was appealing the California Supreme Court’s decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation, about which we blogged in June. While Iskanian generally vindicated employers’ right to enforce class action bans in arbitration agreements, the California Supreme Court distinguished … Continue Reading
California Governor Brown signed the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (the “Act”) which will provide qualifying California employees with paid sick leave beginning July 1, 2015. Modeled on a Connecticut law and the San Francisco Paid Sick Leave ordinance, this Act will generally provide employees who work at least 30 days per year … Continue Reading
United States District Judge Lucy Koh, sitting in San Jose, refused to approve a $324.5 million settlement in a case pitting a class of engineers against high tech giants Adobe Systems, Apple, Google and Intel. The engineers’ claims in the case captioned, In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, stem from a 2010 U.S. Department of … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruled that Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co. violated the National Labor Relations Act when it suspended striking switchman Eric Walters for making an obscene gesture. Specifically, Walters grabbed his crotch in a sexual gesture aimed at an employee crossing the picket line. While the Labor Board did find credible evidence … Continue Reading
In a decision employers have been anticipating since 2008, the California Supreme Court has clarified key aspects of the state’s laws regarding paid rest periods and unpaid, duty free, meal breaks for non-exempt employees. In Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court, the high court examined exactly how many 10-minute paid rest periods non-exempt employees are … Continue Reading
A new model wage disclosure form issued by the California Labor Commissioner may create ambiguity about whether individuals are employed “at will” or under a contract requiring good reason for termination. The problem arises in the wake of the state’s Wage Theft Prevention Act which went into effect on January 1, 2012. The law requires … Continue Reading
As previously reported in Squire Sanders’ Sixth Circuit blog, the Supreme Court recently ruled that oral statements made to an employer regarding wage and hour violations are sufficient to trigger the anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., No. 09-834 (March 22, 2011). Thus, employees are not … Continue Reading
