Cole Lewis
Associate
Cole Lewis is an associate in the Labor & Employment Department.
Cole graduated from UCLA School of Law, where he worked as a law clerk for Public Counsel of Los Angeles and advocated for benefit recipients in the Department of Public Social Services. He has also previously worked as a summer associate in Proskauer’s Labor & Employment Department.
Prior to law school, Cole received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism at Indiana University, where he graduated cum laude.
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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
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
Last week, we blogged about the avalanche of new labor laws that California employers will face in 2020. Here are two late additions to the list — just in time for Halloween!: AB 61 (Ting, D-San Francisco) grants employers and coworkers the right to petition a court to issue a gun violence restraining order, which prevents an … Continue Reading
Here’s a comprehensive list of the new employment-related statutes enacted and signed into law in the Golden State (effective Jan. 1, 2020 unless otherwise specified): AB 5 (Gonzalez, D-San Diego) makes it extremely difficult for most California employers to hire an independent contractor and would convert such workers into “employees” in the eyes of the … Continue Reading
Following passage of AB-5, the recent string of multi-million dollar employee jury verdicts, and other challenging developments, we concluded that our subscribers need some feel-good news every meow and then (sorry). An association of lawyers in Brasília, Brazil has hired Leon the cat as one of their new “attorneys” in order to lighten the mood around … Continue Reading
In an effort to give consumers more control over the data businesses collect from and about them, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018 (and amended it a few months later). The CCPA gives consumers the right to know about and have deleted the data businesses have gathered about them, among … Continue Reading
Assembly Bill 5, a proposed new law currently pending in the California legislature, would limit and codify last year’s California Supreme Court Dynamex opinion. If passed and signed into law by Gov. Newsom (he’s already said he’ll sign it), AB-5 would make it nearly impossible for most California employers to hire an independent contractor and … Continue Reading
Five In-Home Supportive Service (“IHSS”) providers filed a class-action lawsuit last month challenging their union’s practice of deducting union dues despite their quitting the union. The workers allege their First Amendment rights are being violated by the union deducting dues from their paychecks and using it to subsidize union speech. Just one year ago, the United … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, three taxpayers sued California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to prevent enforcement of Senate Bill 826. Senate Bill 826, signed into law last year by former Governor Jerry Brown, requires that by the end of 2019, all publicly held foreign or domestic corporations whose principal executive offices are in California shall have … Continue Reading
What used to be a routine request – asking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for an extension of time when responding to a charge of discrimination or harassment and assuming extra time would be granted – apparently is no longer such an automatic thing. In what may signal a broader shift in policy, the … Continue Reading
We’re delighted to report that we secured two summary judgments in two separate alleged discrimination cases on behalf of a large Southern California hospital in matters that were pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court. In one case, decided on July 12, 2019, the Court agreed with our client that the former employee had failed … Continue Reading
As we have reported before, California is set to become the first state to prohibit employers from discriminating based upon hairstyle. Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the “CROWN Act” (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair). The CROWN Act amends the state’s Education Code and Government Code to define “race … Continue Reading
The 9th Circuit court of appeals has enforced the City of Everett, Washington’s Dress Code Ordinance and amendments to the Lewd Conduct Ordinances. These ordinances require employees of “Quick-Service” facilities to cover “minimum body areas” (the dress code ordinance specifically stated that it was targeting an apparent influx of “bikini barista stands”). The owner of … Continue Reading
In a decision unsurprising to anyone familiar with what California juries have been up to lately (see our reporting here), fast-food titan Jack in the Box was ordered to pay $15.4 million (including a staggering $10 million in punitive damages) last week in a lawsuit involving age and disability discrimination claims, as well as alleged … Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
Two Important Stragglers Among California’s New Labor Laws
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, New and Proposed Laws and Legislation
Take That, Employers! California is Done (for Now) with this Year’s Legislative Thrashing
Stray Kitty Moonlights as Lawyer
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law
Employees Will Be Exempted from Most Requirements of the Amended California Consumer Privacy Act … For Now
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Privacy
Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash Pledge $90 Million To Fund Voter Initiative To Overturn Assembly Bill 5
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Independent Contractors
Public Employee Union Members Sue Over Forced Dues Payments
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Union Issues
California Law Requiring Female Board Members Challenged In Court
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law
EEOC Has Begun Denying Employers’ Requests For Extensions Of Time To Respond To Discrimination Charges
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in EEOC
Proskauer Scores Two Summary Judgments for Large Southern California Hospital Within 48 Hours
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Discrimination, Retaliation
California Enacts Law Prohibiting Hairstyle Discrimination … with New York and New Jersey Close Behind
By Tony Oncidi, Laura Fant and Cole Lewis on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation
“Bikini Baristas” Ordered to Cover-Up
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law
California Jury Awards $15.4 Million to Former Jack in the Box Employee
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Jury verdicts
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
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
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
California Legislature Tries Yet Again to Outlaw Arbitration Agreements…
By Tony Oncidi and Cole Lewis on Posted in Arbitration Agreements
