California Labor & Employment Defense Blog
This blawg keeps employers up-to-date about developments in California law, including class actions and single-plaintiff cases. It is written for in-house counsel, human resource professionals and business owners.
Author: Anthony Zaller is a partner at Van Vleck, Turner & Zaller in Los Angeles.
Blawg Related Categories: In-house Counsel • Labor & Employment • States • California • Solo / Small Firm
Recent Posts from California Labor & Employment Defense Blog
-
Between A Rock and A Hard Place -- Ricci v. DeStefano Addresses the Conflict Between Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact Theories
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ricci v. DeStefano is very much in the tradition of the Court's affirmative action jurisprudence of the last 40 years. In other words, it is confusing and provides little or no practical guidance to…
-
Binding Effect of PAGA Decisions Is An Alternative To Class Certification -- Arias v. Superior Court
The California Supreme opinion in Arias v. Superior Court has created a potent new alternative to class actions for enforcing Labor Code provisions. The Supreme Court granted review to decide whether plaintiffs must obtain formal class certification…
-
Arias v. Superior Court - Class Action Requirements Clarified By California Supreme Court
In almost every employment law class action filed, the plaintiff alleges a cause of action under California’s unfair competition law, found in California’s Business & Professions Code section 17200. Likewise, plaintiffs’ routinely allege causes of…
-
The Supreme Court Tweaks Burden of Proof for Age Discrimination -- Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. has been hailed by the news media and some commentators as effecting a significant change in the law which makes it "much harder" to prove age discrimination. …
-
A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come? -- Government Mandated Paid Sick Leave Under The Healthy Families Act
Federal legislation to require paid sick leave is currently working its way through Congress. As currently drafted House and Senate versions of the Healthy Families Act would require seven paid sick days per year for most…
-
Incentive Awards for Class Representatives -- Rodriguez v. West Publishing Corporation
Class settlement agreements typically provide that individuals serving as class representatives may recovery special monetary payments, known as "enhancements" or "service awards." In the recent decision of Rodriguez v. West Publishing Corporation the appellate court discussed when such payments are proper…
-
Employment Ruling At Center Stage For Sotomayor Confirmation
As judge for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007, Judge Sotomayor affirmed a lower court’s ruling that 17 white and two Hispanic firefighters were not discriminated against in violation of Title VII and…
-
Managers Who Provide Table Service May Share in Tip Pool -- Appellate Court Reverses Award Against Starbucks
As we previously blogged, Starbucks was hammered last year with a class restitution award of $105 million in a fight over the ownership of the change dropped in its tip jars. The central issue was whether store managers who also…
-
UCL ClassAction Standards are Clarified By California Supreme Court -- In re Tobacco Cases II
In re Tobacco Cases II, is the California Supreme Court’s most recent attempt to clarify the requirements for bringing a class action under the of California Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code section 17200…
-
Supreme Court Upholds "Grandfathered" Seniority System -- AT&T v. Hulteen
When Congress passed Title VII in 1964 it did not initially ban pregnancy discrimination. In fact, it was not until the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) in 1978 that Congress finally added pregnancy as an…