California Employment Law Blog

The Court of Appeals of California recently issued an opinion addressing several employment claims, including whether a union may be responsible for aiding and abetting discrimination. The plaintiff in this matter filed a wrongful termination case against his employer, a janitorial services company, and the union that represents the employer. The relevant issue on appeal…

California’s anti-SLAPP statute refers to the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Lawmakers designed the statute to protect those who wish to speak out about public policy issues against more powerful corporate entities. In California, the term primarily refers to lawsuits stemming from discouraging speech about significant issues or public participation in governmental proceedings. While the…

An alarming decision from a California appeals court highlights the importance of reviewing any paperwork related to a potential employment claim. In that case, an employee filed a California employment lawsuit against her employers in April 2019. While the case was pending, in December 2019, the employers allegedly told the employee to sign some paperwork…

Recently the Court of Appeals issued a decision in a California employment discrimination case involving several claims, including pregnancy-related and sex discrimination. The plaintiff asserts that her employer, a dental group, terminated her position because she attempted to become pregnant. In response, the defendant argued that the decision did not stem from discrimination. Instead, the…

Earlier this month, the California Department of Public Health issued an order (the “Order”) directing certain workers who provide services or work in specified facilities to have their first dose of a one-dose regimen or their second dose of a two-dose regimen of the Covid-19 vaccine by September 30, 2021. While the COVID-19 pandemic remains…

The Supreme Court of California recently issued a decision in a California employment case alleging the unlawful refusal to promote, holding that the statute of limitations begins to run when the employee knows or should have known about the employer’s unlawful refusal to promote. In that case, the employee was a customer service representative and…

The California Supreme Court recently issued a decision holding that employers must pay employees according to their “regular rate” rather than according to their straight-time hourly rate. The case applies retroactively and thus applies even to California employment cases that have already been decided and to previous miscalculations. In the case, Ferra v. Loews Hollywood…

California’s Supreme Court recently issued a significant decision concerning California meal periods for employees. In California, in general, employers must give employees with a 30-minute meal period after at least the fifth hour of work and after at least the tenth hour of work. If an employee is not provided a compliant meal period, then…

In a momentous decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that employers must compensate employees for the time spent waiting and undergoing security searches of their belongings and technology devices. The decision signifies a major departure from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the federal standard, employers did not have to compensate employees for time…

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided a case involving a Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim that the employer claimed was barred due to an arbitration agreement between the employer and the alleged employee. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is a federal appeals court located in San Francisco, California, and has jurisdiction…