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 fast-food council with authority to set wage, hour, and
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.
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 the individual arbitration. Adolph strongly suggested a stay is
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 individual claims are compelled to arbitration. As many
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 be completely outmatched, several other localities raised their minimum wage
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. Victory Woodworks, Inc., No. S274191 (Cal. July 6, 2023),
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 may pursue a PAGA claim even after settling their
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 to rule for the employer may
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’
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 decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana