California Labor & Employment Law

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On February 26, 2025, in Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation, Inc., the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District) issued the latest published decision addressing the practice of filing so-called “headless” Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims.  In such cases, the plaintiff seeks civil penalties for all allegedly aggrieved employees except themself.  In the wake of Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, 596 …

As California private employers of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors may know, it is time to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the Civil Rights Department (“CRD”). 

Although this year’s reporting requirements are mostly the same as last year’s (previously covered here), CRD has revised race and ethnicity categories as follows:

  • Adding a
…

In late 2023, California supersized the minimum wage for fast food workers by a whopping 25 percent (increasing it from $16 to $20). This law was opposed by the fast food industry, while labor unions (and their many friends and admirers in Sacramento) insisted it would “benefit workers.”

Well, the results are in.  According to a new study released by the Berkeley Research Group, the…

The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here.

This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) overrides state law—even in cases in which the employee has signed an arbitration agreement that explicitly invokes state law favoring arbitration.

Kristin Casey, a former…

Hansen v. Musk, 122 F.4th 1162 (9th Cir. 2024)

Karl Hansen sued Tesla, Inc., its CEO (Elon Musk) and another entity alleging he was retaliated against for reporting “misconduct” at Tesla. The district court ordered most of Hansen’s claims to arbitration except his claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which cannot be compelled to arbitration pursuant to a predispute arbitration agreement (18 U.S.C. §…

Jenkins v. Dermatology Mgmt., LLC, 107 Cal. App. 5th 633 (2024)

The employer in this case sought to compel to arbitration a putative class action that was filed by former employee Annalycia Jenkins who claimed unfair competition pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. The trial court denied the employer’s motion to compel because the arbitration agreement was substantially unconscionable based on a…

Gonzalez v. Nowhere Beverly Hills LLC, 107 Cal. App. 5th 111 (2024)

Edgar Gonzalez worked for Nowhere Santa Monica at its Erewhon market for approximately five months before filing a putative class action for wage-and-hour violations under the California Labor Code. Gonzalez filed suit against 10 Nowhere entities in response to which the 10 entities filed a motion to compel arbitration based upon an…

Leeper v. Shipt, Inc., 2024 WL 5251619 (Cal. Ct. App. 2024)

Christina Leeper entered into an independent contractor agreement with Shipt, Inc. (“Shipt”), a subsidiary of Target Corporation (“Target”), as well as an arbitration agreement that required her to arbitrate any personal/individual claims. She subsequently filed a purported “representative” lawsuit against Shipt and Target, alleging a “representative” PAGA claim – i.e., exclusively seeking penalties incurred…

Markel v. Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of Am., 124 F.5th 796 (9th Cir. 2024)

Yaakov Markel was employed by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU) as a mashgiach to supervise food preparation for kosher compliance. Markel’s relationship with OU and his supervisor, Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, “soured” after he did not receive a promotion and a raise that he claims he was…