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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We invite you to review our newly-posted January 2020 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Church Affiliate Is Exempt From FEHA Liability, But Liable for $1.9 Million On Other Theories Disability Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Claims Were Properly Dismissed Employer That … Continue Reading
Ridgeway v. Walmart Inc., 2020 WL 55073 (9th Cir. 2020) In this class action, truckers for Wal-Mart alleged they should have been but were not paid for layovers, rest breaks and inspections. The district court determined and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that the time drivers spent on layovers is compensable if Wal-Mart exercised control over … Continue Reading
Noori v. Countrywide Payroll & HR Solutions, Inc., 2019 WL 7183403 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Mohammed Noori sued his former employer for violation of Cal. Lab. Code § 226(a) (setting forth certain very specific statutory requirements for itemized wage statements) based on the fact that the wage statements identified “CSSG” as the “name of the … Continue Reading
Cacho v. Eurostar, Inc., 2019 WL 7180349 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) David Cacho and Regina Silva asserted class claims against their former employer (Eurostar), alleging Eurostar violated California wage and hour laws by failing to provide employees with required meal and rest breaks and compelling to employees to work off the clock at Eurostar’s Warehouse … Continue Reading
Global Protein Prods., Inc. v. Le, 42 Cal. App. 5th 352 (2019) Global Protein Products, Inc. (“GPP”) successfully sued its former employee Kevin K. Le for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and unfair competition and obtained a stipulated permanent injunction against him and his company from “acquiring, disclosing, using, or attempting or threatening … Continue Reading
Rall v. Tribune 365, LLC, 2019 WL 6887261 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Frederick Theodore Rall III, a political cartoonist and blogger, sued the Los Angeles Times after it published a “note to readers” and (later) a more detailed report questioning the accuracy of a blog post that Rall wrote for the Times. Rall then sued … Continue Reading
Glynn v. Superior Court, 42 Cal. App. 5th 47 (2019) John Glynn worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative before he commenced a medical leave of absence for a serious eye condition (myopic macular degeneration). Glynn’s doctor provided a medical certification designating his work status as “no work” because Glynn “can’t safely drive.” Although the employer’s … Continue Reading
Doe v. Department of Corr. & Rehab., 2019 WL 6907515 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) John Doe, who worked as a psychologist at Ironwood State Prison, alleged discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a disability; Doe also alleged that the employer violated FEHA in that it failed to accommodate his two alleged disabilities (asthma and dyslexia) … Continue Reading
Mathews v. Happy Valley Conference Ctr., 2019 WL 6769659 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Jeremiah Mathews worked as a maintenance supervisor and cook for Happy Valley Conference Center, which is a subordinate affiliate of Community of Christ (a church). Mathews alleged his employment was terminated in retaliation for his having reported harassment of a younger male … Continue Reading
Safeway Wage & Hour Cases, 2019 WL 6954322 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Following a jury trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Safeway on the ground that plaintiff William Cunningham was subject to the executive exemption and was, therefore, exempt from overtime. At trial, the main dispute was whether Cunningham spent most of … Continue Reading
Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis were recently featured in Human Resource Executive explaining how employers can use the viral phrase “OK, boomer” to teach employees about workplace harassment and discrimination. Read the full article here.… Continue Reading
On Monday, Uber, Postmates and two of their drivers filed a lawsuit in federal court in the Central District of California, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and a determination that AB-5 is unconstitutional. AB-5 is set to become effective on Wednesday, January 1st and will have a major impact on California’s freelance workforce as well … Continue Reading
As we reported previously, the California legislature recently passed and Gov. Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 51, which would impose criminal penalties upon employers seeking to have their employees sign arbitration agreements – it is in short the “Request Arbitration, Go to Jail” law. Today, United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller granted a … Continue Reading
On January 1, 2020, California’s new worker classification law known as Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), goes into effect. AB 5 codifies the three-factor “ABC” test adopted by the California Supreme Court in its 2018 Dynamex decision. The bulk of newly added Section 2750.3 of the California Labor Code describes the various categories of workers … Continue Reading
As expected, California’s effort to ban employers from requiring employees and applicants to sign an arbitration agreement has been challenged in federal court. The lawsuit was filed by a business coalition that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation. AB-51 was signed into law in October along with a constellation of other … Continue Reading
As recently highlighted by the New York Times, a new phrase emblematic of the real or perceived “War Between the Generations” has gone viral: “OK, Boomer!” The phrase, popularized on the Internet and, in particular, Twitter by Generation Z and Millennials, has been used to dismiss baby boomers’ thoughts and opinions, sometimes viewed by younger … Continue Reading
We invite you to review our newly-posted November 2019 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Court Upholds Whistleblower Verdicts In Favor Of Fired Parking Ticket Hearing Examiners College Professor Was Retaliated Against For Complaining About Hostile Environment Discriminatory Failure-To-Hire Claim Must … Continue Reading
Gonzales v. San Gabriel Transit, Inc., 2019 WL 4942213 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Francisco Gonzales filed this putative class action against his former employer, San Gabriel Transit (“SGT”), alleging that he and 550 other drivers were misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees. The trial court denied class certification on the ground that Gonzales had … Continue Reading
O’Grady v. Merchant Exchange Prods., Inc., 2019 WL 5617001 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) In this putative class action, banquet server and bartender Lauren O’Grady alleged that her employer’s practice of automatically imposing a 21 percent “service charge” to every food and beverage banquet bill constituted a gratuity that had to be fully paid to nonmanagerial … Continue Reading
Naranjo v. Spectrum Sec. Servs., Inc., 40 Cal. App. 5th 444 (2019) Spectrum contracts with federal agencies to take temporary custody of federal prisoners and ICE detainees who must travel offsite for medical treatment and other appointments; Spectrum’s officers provide continuous supervision until the individuals are returned to their custodial locations. Spectrum had a policy … Continue Reading
Southern Cal. Pizza Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, 40 Cal. App. 5th 140 (2019) Lloyds of London provided the employer in this case with an employment practices liability insurance (“EPLI”) policy, which contained an exclusion relating to “wage and hour or overtime law(s).” In this insurance coverage dispute, the employer alleged the policy … Continue Reading
Liday v. Sim, 40 Cal. App. 5th 359 (2019) Lea Liday sued her former employers for unpaid wages incurred from April 2010 until April 2014. Liday worked as the family’s live-in caretaker for their children and was paid a fixed salary of $3,000 per month. The trial court determined that Liday was a “personal attendant” … Continue Reading
Carroll v. City & County of San Francisco, 2019 WL 5617019 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019) Joyce Carroll retired from her job working for the City of San Francisco in 2000 due to rheumatoid arthritis; since that time, Carroll received monthly disability retirement benefit payments. Plaintiff alleged that she became aware in 2017 (17 years after … Continue Reading
Salazar v. McDonald’s Corp., 939 F.3d 1051 (9th Cir. 2019) McDonald’s Corporation (“McDonald’s”) was named as a defendant in a putative class action filed by the employees of the Haynes Family Limited Partnership, which operated eight McDonald’s franchises in the Bay Area. The putative class members alleged they were denied overtime premiums, meal and rest … Continue Reading
January 2020 California Employment Law Notes
Ninth Circuit Affirms $54.6 Million Verdict In Favor of Wal-Mart Truckers
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Class Actions
Employer’s Wage Statement Failed To Provide Legal Name Of Employer
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in California Labor Code, PAGA
Trial Court Properly Denied Class Certification Of Meal/Rest Break Claims
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Meal Periods and Rest Breaks
Court Properly Refused To Dissolve Injunction Involving Trade Secret Misappropriation
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Trade Secrets
Defamation and Wrongful Termination Claims Against the Los Angeles Times Were Properly Dismissed
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Defamation, Wrongful Termination
Employer That “Mistakenly” Terminated Employee On Disability Leave May Be Liable For Discrimination
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Disability, Discrimination
Disability Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Claims Were Properly Dismissed
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Disability, Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation
Church Affiliate Is Exempt From FEHA Liability, But Liable for $1.9 Million On Other Theories
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in FEHA
Court Affirms Jury Verdict Finding Safeway Manager Was Exempt From Overtime
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Wage and Hour
HR Executive Article: “How ‘OK, boomer’ can provide a teachable moment”
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Age discrimination, California Labor & Employment Law
Uber and Postmates File Lawsuit Challenging California’s New Independent Contractor Law (AB-5)
By Tony Oncidi, Kate Gold, Kate Napalkova and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
California’s “Request Arbitration, Go to Jail” Law is Blocked Until at Least January 10, 2020
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, California Labor & Employment Law
Adjusting To The “New Normal” With AB 5 – A World Without Independent Contractors
By Tony Oncidi and Kristina L. Sidrak on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
California’s Arbitration Ban Challenged in Federal Court
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, California Labor & Employment Law
“OK, Boomer!”: Not Okay In the Office
By Tony Oncidi, Philippe A. Lebel and Cole Lewis on Posted in Age discrimination, California Labor & Employment Law
November 2019 California Employment Law Notes
Determination Of Class Certification Motion Should Be Based On Dynamex’s “ABC Test”
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Independent Contractors
Employer’s “Service Charge” May Be A Gratuity Owed To Employees
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Wage and Hour
Employer Must Have Written Meal Period Agreement, Which Includes A Revocation Clause
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Meal Periods and Rest Breaks
Expense Reimbursement Claims Are Covered By Employment Practices Insurance
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Expense Reimbursement
Live-In Nanny Is Entitled To Unpaid Wages, But Less Than $403,000
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Overtime
Statute Of Limitations Runs From The Date Of Each Allegedly Discriminatory Payment
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in FEHA
McDonald’s Corp Was Not The Joint Employer Of Its Franchisees’ Employees
By Tony Oncidi on Posted in Joint Employer
