Jonathan Slowik
Special Employment Law Counsel
1.310.284.4558
Jonathan Slowik is a special counsel in the Labor Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Counseling Group.
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A two-year standoff between the fast food industry and labor unions ended this week as stakeholders announced a deal that will increase the minimum wage to $20 for California workers at fast food chains with more than 60 locations nationwide. As we previously reported, in September 2022, California passed A.B. 257, which created a 10-member … Continue Reading
As readers may know, the Los Angeles Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance took effect on July 1, 2023. The new law imposes additional requirements on businesses in the City of Los Angeles who have contracts with freelance workers. Perhaps most notably, for any contract between a hiring entity and a freelance worker valued at $600 or … Continue Reading
With Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. in the books, it is now clear that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiffs do not lose standing to pursue representative claims in court when their individual PAGA claims are sent to arbitration. In Adolph’s wake, disputes may arise regarding whether the representative court action should be stayed pending … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2023, approximately one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Viking River Cruises, the California Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies. The Court answered the critical question of whether a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff retains their standing to pursue non-individual claims after their … Continue Reading
The so-called “Fight for 15” – those widespread protests for a $15 minimum wage – are so passé now! As of July 1, 2023, West Hollywood takes the crown for the highest mandated minimum wage in the United States at $19.08. Why they didn’t just top it off at $20 is anyone’s guess. (Not to … Continue Reading
Last week, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers are not liable to nonemployees who contract COVID-19 from employee household members that bring the virus home from their workplace, because “[a]n employer does not owe a duty of care under California law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to employees’ household members.” Kuciemba v. … Continue Reading
As we have written here on multiple occasions, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) disadvantages employers in several ways. Despite permitting recovery similar to what might be obtained in a class action, class certification rules do not apply and it is an open question whether courts can even limit an unmanageable claim before trial. Plaintiffs … Continue Reading
On May 10, 2023, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a closely watched case that will decide whether a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff loses standing to pursue a representative claim when their individual PAGA claim is compelled to arbitration. Observers hoping for a sign that the court was inclined … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for May 9, 2023 in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., a closely watched case that concerns whether a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) plaintiff loses standing to pursue a representative claim when their individual PAGA claim is compelled to arbitration. This question was left open by the blockbuster … Continue Reading
In the first ruling of its kind, the California Court of Appeal (4th Dist.) recently ruled that a plaintiff may pursue penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for alleged violations of California’s sick pay statute, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014. Wood v. Kaiser Found. Hosps., 2023 WL 2198664 (Cal. Ct. … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the California Court of Appeal (2d Dist.) ruled that issue preclusion bars a derivative Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim where the plaintiff litigates individual Labor Code claims in arbitration and loses. Rocha v. U-Haul Co. of Cal., 2023 WL 1462594 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 2, 2023) (certified for publication). Rocha, while at … Continue Reading
Industry and Labor Serve Up $20 Minimum Wage Deal For Fast Food Workers
By Jonathan Slowik and Laura Vaughn on Posted in California Labor & Employment Law, Minimum Wage, Wage and Hour
Put it in Writing: Los Angeles Imposes New Requirements on Employers of Independent Contractors
SCOTUS Provides Further Support For Staying PAGA Court Actions Pending Arbitration
Adolph Parts With Viking River, Opening Path for Arbitration-Bound Plaintiffs to Pursue PAGA Claims in Court
By Mark Theodore, Jonathan Slowik and Laura Vaughn on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, California Supreme Court, PAGA
West Hollywood Wins The Gold Medal For Highest Minimum Wage In The Nation — $19.08!
Crisis Averted: California Employers Are Not Liable for “Take-Home” COVID Cases.
Don’t Expect to Discharge That PAGA Debt in Bankruptcy
Under-the-Radar Concessions in Adolph Could Shorten PAGA’s Parade Of Horribles
By Jonathan Slowik on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, PAGA, Wage and Hour
It May Be Time To Update Those Arbitration Agreements Again!
What Appellate Courts Are Missing About PAGA Standing After Viking River Cruises
Court of Appeal Rules Plaintiff May Recover PAGA Penalties For Violating Sick Pay Statute
By Jonathan Slowik on Posted in PAGA
Employees Lose on PAGA Claims in Court Following Loss in Arbitration
By Jonathan Slowik on Posted in PAGA
