Tony Oncidi
Partner
Anthony J. Oncidi heads the Labor & Employment Law Group in the Los Angeles office.
Tony represents employers and management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law, including litigation and preventive counseling, wage and hour matters, including class actions, wrongful termination, employee discipline, Title VII and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, executive employment contract disputes, sexual harassment training and investigations, workplace violence, drug testing and privacy issues, Sarbanes-Oxley claims and employee raiding and trade secret protection. A substantial portion of Tony’s practice involves the defense of employers in large class actions, employment discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination litigation in state and federal court as well as arbitration proceedings, including FINRA matters.
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It’s springtime in California! Even as the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, the California legislature is busy, busy, busy passing 100s of new laws because, after all, you can never get too much of a good thing! Yes, it’s Bill Passing Season in Sacramento again, and the California legislature seems as determined as ever … Continue Reading
We invite you to review our newly-posted May 2019 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Strict Independent Contractor Test Applies Retroactively; California Employee Is Compelled To Litigate His Employment Claims In Indiana; Employee Could Rely Upon Former Supervisor’s Statement About Existence Of Discrimination; … Continue Reading
Weil v. Citizens Telecom Servs. Co., 2019 WL 1891796 (9th Cir. 2019) David Weil sued Citizens Telecom Services for wrongful termination and discriminatory failure to promote under Title VII and related statutes. In support of his failure-to-promote claim, Weil testified in his deposition that his former supervisor (identified in the opinion as “L.H.”) told him … Continue Reading
Goldstein v. CUIAB, 2019 WL 1923530 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Steven M. Goldstein applied for and received unemployment insurance benefits from March 23, 2013 through August 10, 2013 after which time he ceased receiving unemployment benefits because he began receiving disability benefits, which continued until September 2014. Goldstein’s second claim for unemployment insurance benefits had … Continue Reading
Savea v. YRC Inc., 2019 WL 1552686 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Vaiula Savea sued his employer (YRC) for an alleged violation of Labor Code § 226 based upon YRC’s alleged failure to include the correct employer name and address on its wage statements. The alleged violations arose from YRC’s listing on the wage statements its … Continue Reading
Garcia v. Salvation Army, 918 F.3d 997 (9th Cir. 2019) Ann Garcia worked as social services coordinator for the Salvation Army but “left the Church” and stopped attending religious services there a few years before taking a lengthy medical leave of absence due to fibromyalgia and eventually being fired for failing to report to work … Continue Reading
Ryze Claim Solutions LLC v. Superior Court, 2019 WL 1467947 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Jerome Nedd was employed by Ryze Claim Solutions in El Cerrito, California for almost three years before his employment was terminated, resulting in his filing claims against Ryze for wrongful termination and violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) … Continue Reading
Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, 2019 WL 1945001 (9th Cir. 2019) Last year, the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Ops. W. Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), adopted the so-called “ABC test” for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor and in so doing made it much more difficult … Continue Reading
A new California bill aims to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based upon their hairstyles. SB 188, also known as the “CROWN Act” (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural hair), proposes amending the Education Code and Government Code to define “race or ethnicity” as “inclusive of traits historically associated … Continue Reading
Last year, we questioned whether California’s new restrictions on independent contractors would apply retroactively. Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit decided in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, 2019 WL 1945001 (9th Cir. 2019), that the landmark ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court should be applied retroactively. The new test established in Dynamex upended the Borello test, … Continue Reading
For the second time this calendar year, a Los Angeles jury ordered an employer to pay $11 million to an employee who claimed to have been sexually harassed. And, once again, the amount of punitive damages ($8 million) dwarfed the amount of compensatory damages ($3.1 million) by a margin of more than two-to-one. On Friday, … Continue Reading
I’m delighted to be presenting a webinar on “Sexual Harassment Claims and Mandatory Arbitration Agreements” for the California Lawyers Association from 12:00 to 1:00 pm PDT on Wednesday, April 24. In the wake of the #MeToo Movement, the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements in the context of sexual harassment claims has come under fierce attack … Continue Reading
Tony Oncidi: On the issue of #MeToo and the current and best way for an employer to respond to those issues, I think there are certain things that are essentially table stakes that all employers need to do before they start considering other options. Number one, they have to make sure that they have all the … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, April 16, 1-2 pm PDT, Tony Oncidi will be joining the Employment Roundtable of Southern California (ERTSC) and presenting the webinar, A Quick Legal Update of New Employment Laws and Cases. The New Year rang in nearly twenty new employment laws. 2018 and 2019 have produced dozens and dozens of significant employment cases. … Continue Reading
Just another day in paradise in Los Angeles… Unless you happen to be an employer. Continuing the recent spate of multi-million dollar verdicts, an LA jury awarded a former police officer $7 million on her sex discrimination claim. Lili Hadsell, a former police chief for the City of Baldwin Park, alleged that she was subjected … Continue Reading
We invite you to review our newly-posted March 2019 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Eddie Money Beats Discrimination Lawsuit Based On Free Speech Right; Former Accountant Could Proceed With Whistleblower Lawsuit; Employer Violated FCRA With Improper Background Check Notice; Fruit Growers May … Continue Reading
There they go again! As we predicted last November, the California legislature is once again trying to outlaw arbitration agreements between employers and employees. Former Gov. Jerry Brown routinely vetoed similar bills that sought to prohibit arbitration of employment disputes on the anodyne ground that such legislation unquestionably conflicts with and is preempted by federal … Continue Reading
The current landscape in the #MeToo Era has heightened the need for leaders at every business organization to ensure that sound and strategically aligned practices for preventing, receiving, and responding to harassment, discrimination and other workplace related claims are in place. Proskauer has just released its findings from a broad-based survey of employers around the … Continue Reading
Furry v. East Bay Pub’g, LLC, 30 Cal. App. 5th 1072 (2019) Terry Furry worked as a sales and marketing director for the East Bay Express (a weekly newspaper based in Oakland) and alleged that East Bay failed to pay minimum and overtime wages, meal and rest breaks, provide properly itemized wage statements, etc. Following … Continue Reading
Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc., 31 Cal. App. 5th 1167 (2019) Skylar Ward challenged by way of this putative class action the on-call scheduling practices of her former employer, Tilly’s, Inc., as violating the reporting time pay requirements of California law. Tilly’s required on-call employees to contact Tilly’s two hours before their on-call shifts. If they … Continue Reading
Duffey v. Tender Heart Home Care Agency, LLC, 31 Cal. App. 5th 232 (2019) Nichelle Duffey sued Tender Heart Home Care Agency for employment-related wage and hour claims such as unpaid overtime under the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (“DWBR,” Cal. Labor Code §§ 1450, et seq.). The trial court granted Tender Heart’s motion … Continue Reading
Fierro v. Landry’s Rest. Inc., 2019 WL 658710 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Jorge Fierro filed this class action, claiming that he and the other members of the putative class were misclassified as exempt employees and that, in fact, they were non-exempt, non-managerial employees who are owed unpaid overtime wages and penalties. Landry’s responded by filing … Continue Reading
Jimenez-Sanchez v. Dark Horse Exp., Inc., 2019 WL 626349 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) The trial court denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification of a putative class consisting of employees who worked as drivers transporting milk within California. Plaintiffs allege failure to compensate for all hours worked; failure to schedule meal periods; failure to provide uninterrupted … Continue Reading
Moorer v. Noble L.A. Events, Inc., 2019 WL 949419 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) David Moorer, who worked as a full-time security guard and “lobby ambassador” for Noble, filed a complaint as an individual and on behalf of all aggrieved employees against Noble and others under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). After Noble failed to … Continue Reading
Ah, It’s Bill Passing Season in California – and No Employer is Safe!
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, New and Proposed Laws and Legislation
May 2019 California Employment Law Notes
Employee Could Rely Upon Former Supervisor’s Statement About Existence Of Discrimination
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Title VII, Wrongful Termination
IT Analyst Was Properly Denied Unemployment Benefits
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Disability, Employee Benefits
Employer Did Not Violate PAGA By Failing To Include “ZIP+4 Code” On Wage Statements
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Labor Code § 226, PAGA
Former Employee’s Claims Against The Salvation Army Were Properly Dismissed
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in ADA, California Labor & Employment Law, Disability, Title VII
California Employee Is Compelled To Litigate His Employment Claims In Indiana
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, FEHA, Wrongful Termination
Strict Independent Contractor Test Applies Retroactively
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Hiring, Independent Contractors
California Bill Aims to Prohibit Employers from Discriminating on Basis of Hairstyle
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Discrimination, New and Proposed Laws and Legislation
9th Circuit Applies Strict Independent Contractor Test, Dynamex, Retroactively
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
California Jury Awards $11 Million In Latest Blockbuster Sexual Harassment Verdict
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in #MeToo, Jury verdicts, Sexual Harassment
Join Us for a Webinar on Sexual Harassment Claims and Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in #MeToo, Arbitration Agreements
Harassment Claims: Best Practices for Employers in the #MeToo Era
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in #MeToo, Harassment
Tune in to the Webinar Today: Employment Roundtable of Southern California
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law
City of Baldwin Park Hit with $7 Million Sex Discrimination Verdict
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Discrimination, Verdict
March 2019 California Employment Law Notes
California Legislature Tries Yet Again to Outlaw Arbitration Agreements…
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Arbitration Agreements
Proskauer Releases New Survey of Workplace Issues in the #MeToo Era
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in #MeToo, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment
Damages May Not Be Denied To Employee Based Upon His “Imprecise Testimony”
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Overtime
On-Call Employees Who Must Call In Should Receive Reporting-Time Pay
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in On-call
Caregiver May Not Have Been Independent Contractor Under DWBR
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Independent Contractors
Successive Class Action May Be Barred By Statute Of Limitations
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Class Actions
Court Should Not Have Denied Certification Of Class Of Drivers Seeking Wage & Hour Remedies
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Wage and Hour
PAGA Penalties Must Be Shared With All Aggrieved Employees
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in PAGA
