On August 20, 2024, in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 3:24-cv-00986-E (N.D. Tex.), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and ordered the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) non-compete rule (the “Rule”) to be set aside with respect to all employers nationally and that it shall not be enforced or take effect on
Once Again, Supreme Court May Have to Save Arbitration in California
The U.S. Supreme Court has had to intervene on numerous occasions to save arbitration in the state of California – arbitration is once again under attack in the Golden State.
Authored by partner, Tony Oncidi and senior counsel, Phil Lebel we invite you to read the full article here, originally published in the Daily Journal.
Hot PAGA Summer Rolls on with Another “Win” for Employers
The “Summer of PAGA” continued last week when the California Supreme Court ruled in Turrieta v. Lyft, Inc., Case No. S271721, that a plaintiff in a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) action does not have standing to intervene or object to a settlement in a parallel action involving overlapping PAGA claims.
The structure of PAGA tends to invite the scenario facing the parties and
“Texit” Shows No Sign of Stopping – Chevron Says “Howdy, Houston!… Hasta La Vista, California!”
Chevron announced on Friday its plans to relocate its headquarters from Northern California to Houston, Texas. Chevron first began doing business in California nearly 150 years ago in 1879 with the incorporation of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, headquartered in San Francisco.
In a public statement, Chevron said the move is due to a desire to “to co-locate with other senior leaders and enable
California Supreme Court Delivers Big Win for Gig Companies
On July 25, 2024, the California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Proposition 22, the law allowing gig economy workers to be classified as independent contractors. The decision ends a nearly four-year legal battle over the law’s constitutionality and constitutes a major victory for gig economy giants like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.
Since Prop 22 was passed by California voters in 2020, companies have been
PAGA 2.0 – Early Evaluation Conferences May Help Defendants Cut to the Chase
On June 27, 2024, the California Legislature passed AB 2288 and SB 92, compromise legislation that reformed the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and averted a ballot measure that threatened to repeal the law entirely this November. We previously reported on the compromise here when the deal was announced, and published a primer on the substantive changes to the law here.
Arguably the
PAGA 2.0 – What Employers Need to Know As PAGA Reform Becomes Law
On June 27, 2024, by near-unanimous vote, the California Legislature passed two bills enacting much-needed reform to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). We previously reported on the legislative compromise last week, when the deal was first announced.
The most profound changes are contained in AB 2288, which amended Labor Code § 2699—the beating heart of PAGA. AB 2288 makes several significant changes to the
Supreme Court Upends Regulatory Law – Major Impact on Employers Possible!
For the past 40 years, federal administrative agencies have enjoyed broad latitude in interpreting statutes passed by Congress. Known as “Chevron deference,” courts have routinely deferred to the agencies’ often politically motivated and even self-empowering interpretation of an otherwise ambiguous statute. This has led to a significant delegation (indeed, some would say surrender) of authority by the legislative and judicial branches to the executive
$900 Million Jury Verdict Handed Down by Los Angeles Jury in Workplace Sexual Assault Case
This week a Los Angeles jury awarded a plaintiff nearly $1 billion in damages for workplace sexual assault. The defendant, billionaire Alkiviades David, suffered a staggering loss when a Los Angeles Superior Court jury doled out a massive $900 million verdict in favor of David’s former employee, who brought suit against him in 2020 alleging years of sexual assault, battery, and harassment. Plaintiff was hired
“Prettymuch All Goes to the Attorneys (PAGA)” No More? Tentative Deal Reached to Reform California’s Broken Private Attorneys General Act
Inspired by a push to repeal the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) by ballot measure (which we previously covered here and here), and at the urging of Governor Gavin Newsom, stakeholders have reached an agreement in principle to reform PAGA and avoid a high-stakes showdown come November. If the Legislature passes the compromise into law by June 27, the measure will be pulled from