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The California Governor signed into law AB 1964 which amends the Fair Employment & Housing Act (“FEHA”) to prohibit discrimination against individuals for the wearing of religious dress or the practice of religious grooming in the workplace. The FEHA already prohibits discrimination against “religious belief” or “observance.” However, the new amendment expressly states that religious dress…

In a move intended to reduce spending and increase efficiency amid continuing budget difficulties, Governor Brown recently signed Senate Bill 1038 which will, among other things, eliminate the Fair Employment and Housing Commission effective January 1, 2013.  The duties of the Commission, primarily rulemaking and the administrative adjudication of discrimination claims, will be assumed in…

The Ninth Circuit has recently requested the California Supreme Court to address the proper method of calculating employee commission payments to determine qualification for California’s commission salesperson exemption set forth in the Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order Nos. 4 and 7. An employee generally can qualify for this exemption if: (1) they work for…

               Another California Court of Appeal provides employers with a victory with respect to the enforcement of arbitration agreements. Affirming an order compelling arbitration in a class action for California Labor Code violations, a California Court of Appeal ruled that the employee was required to arbitrate her individual wage and hour claims against her employer because…

After previously denying class certification, a California district court recently dismissed an action against CVS Pharmacy seeking penalties under the Private Attorney General Act for failing to provide its retail clerks with suitable seating.   In Kilby v. CVS Pharmacies, Inc., the Court granted CVS’s motion for summary judgment and ruled that section 14(A) of the…

While likely subject to appeal by the plaintiff’s lawyer in the case, California employers received a welcome decision by a California Court of Appeal. The Court upheld a class action waiver in an arbitration agreement and also found the plaintiff could not bring claims under the California Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) in light of…

In a partial victory for employers, the California Supreme Court recently held in Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection, Inc., S185827 (Cal. Apr. 30, 2012) that employees and employers may not recover their attorney’s fees if they prevail in a lawsuit for meal or rest break payments under Labor Code § 226.7.

 

The Court analyzed …