California Assembly Member Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) has introduced legislation (Assembly Bill 3042) that would recognize “International Workers’ Day” as a public holiday for students and school employees in the state. The bill would authorize school districts and charter schools to designate May 1 as “International Workers’ Day” with schools to be closed – and employees to be paid – for the “holiday.”
The California Office of Administrative Law recently approved new amendments to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), strengthening the protections afforded to applicants and employees, including individuals who are undocumented, on the basis of their national origin. Although the FEHA already prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of national origin, these new regulations broaden the definition of “national origin.” Originally defined to
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that employers can require employees to arbitrate disputes with the employer individually and waive their right to pursue or participate in class or collective actions against their employer. Ruling 5-4 in favor of an employer’s right to include class action waivers in its arbitration agreements, the Court
Two recent verdicts from California Superior Court juries have awarded former employees $6 million and $7.9 million, respectively, in compensatory damages after a finding of wrongful termination.
Martinez v. Rite Aid Corp.
On March 27, 2018, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found Rite Aid Corporation liable for just over $6 million after deciding that it had wrongfully terminated a 23-year employee. Plaintiff Maria
Sali v. Corona Reg’l Med. Ctr., 2018 WL 2049680 (9th Cir. 2018)
Marilyn Sali and Deborah Spriggs sued Corona Regional Medical Center on behalf of seven putative classes of registered nurses who were allegedly underpaid their wages; not paid for all overtime hours worked; and not provided accurate wage statements, among other things. The district court denied class certification on the grounds that plaintiffs
MMM Holdings, Inc. v. Reich, 21 Cal. App. 5th 167 (2018)
MMM sued Marc Reich, an attorney who had represented a former employee of MMM/MSO of Puerto Rico (Jose Valdez) in a whistleblower qui tam action against the company, for conversion, civil theft, etc., after Reich refused to turn over 26,000 electronically stored documents that Valdez took with him when his employment was
Shapira v. Lifetech Resources, LLC, 2018 WL 1804993 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)
Achikam Shapira sued his former employer for breach of an employment contract. The case proceeded to a bench trial. After the parties rested but before submitting their closing arguments in brief form, Shapira requested that the trial court dismiss his action pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 581(e). The trial court
Scott v. Gino Morena Enterprises, LLC, 2018 WL 1977123 (9th Cir. 2018)
Taylor Scott sued GME in state court for sexual harassment and retaliation. Because Scott worked at a barbershop located on the United States Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, her state court action was removed to federal court under the federal enclave doctrine. After removal, GME filed a motion for judgment on
Serrano v. Aerotek, Inc., 21 Cal. App. 5th 773 (2018)
Norma Serrano brought this putative class action against her employer (Aerotek), which placed her as a temporary employee with its client (Bay Bread). Serrano alleged violations of the Labor Code and of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) based upon, among other things, Aerotek’s alleged failure to provide required meal periods. The
Curry v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC, 2018 WL 1959472 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)
Sadie Curry worked as a gas station manager at a station owned by Shell Oil, but operated by another company (ARS). Curry was hired, trained and supervised by ARS employees, and ARS alone determined that Curry was an exempt employee. In this putative class action, Curry alleged that she and the other