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Ariel Brotman is an associate in the Labor & Employment Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration Group. She represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, trade secrets, and breach of contract litigation, in both the single-plaintiff and class-action context. She also counsels employers on a diverse range of workplace issues.

Ariel earned her J.D. from USC Gould School of Law, where she was a member of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal. During law school, she was also a clinical student in the University of Southern California Immigration Clinic. In addition, she served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Robert N. Kwan in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.

In Arias v. Superior Court, 46 Cal. 4th 969 (2009), the California Supreme Court ruled that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) actions need not satisfy class action requirements, and in the fourteen years since, PAGA plaintiffs have routinely (and often successfully) resisted attempts to apply class action principles to PAGA actions.  A recent unpublished California Court of Appeal decision bucks that trend by lending

Back in the “good old days,” arbitration agreements barred just about any type of civil litigation that was filed in court. Then, as we reported in 2014, the California Supreme Court determined that Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claims are immune from arbitration in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC – which, unsurprisingly, led to an avalanche of PAGA claims being filed as plaintiffs’

Spring in California can only mean one thing, and no, it’s not Coachella, Dodgers games or even the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano—it’s the annual release of the California Chamber of Commerce’s list of “Job Killer Bills.”

Once again, this list proves that former California Governor Jerry Brown had it right when he wrote in a legislative veto message: “Not every

In the California Legislature’s latest attack on the fast-food industry, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) introduced the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act (“AB 1228”). AB 1228 was introduced shortly after a Sacramento County Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the controversial Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act or “FAST Recovery Act” (AB 257) from taking effect, pending a vote by

On January 1, 2023, the IRS mileage rate increased to 65.5 cents per mile for driving done for business purposes.  This is a three (3) cent increase from the rate set for the second half of 2022.  According to the IRS, this rate applies “to electric and hybrid-electric automobiles, as well as gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles” and was calculated “based on an annual study

California employers are required to post several notices and distribute various pamphlets informing employees of their employment rights.  Effective January 1, 2023, eight (8) out of eighteen (18) of these required notices will be updated.  The eight (8) notices that will be updated are the following:

1. California Minimum Wage;

2. Family Care and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave;

3. Your Rights and Obligations

On September 5, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act or FAST Recovery Act (AB-257).  In a breathtaking move, the state government, which is dominated at all levels by union-friendly politicians, will appoint a 10-member Council composed of employees, employers and “union activists” to set the minimum wages and working conditions of fast food workers in the

On July 7, 2022, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed the “Healthcare Workers Minimum Wage Ordinance” (“Ordinance”) which, effective August 13, 2022, increases the minimum wage to $25 per hour for healthcare workers employed at privately-owned healthcare facilities within the City of Los Angeles.  Beginning January 1, 2024, the minimum wage will increase annually based on the cost of living.

The purpose of the bill

In a much anticipated ruling, on May 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Naranjo et al. v. Spectrum Security Services, IncPreviously, the Court of Appeal held that unpaid premium payments for meal period violations did not entitle employees to additional penalties for either inaccurate wage statements or failure to timely pay wages upon separation of employment.  The Court of

As discussed in our previous blog, on April 1, 2022, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Terry Green, granted summary judgment in favor of individuals represented by D.C.-based nonprofit Judicial Watch, declaring Assembly Bill 979 (“AB 979”) to be unconstitutional and granting an “injunction preventing the expenditure of taxpayer funds on the implementation of the measure.”

AB 979 required publicly held corporations with a principal