On June 2, Jackson Lewis Shareholder Punam Sarad conducted the San Francisco Formula Retail Worker Bill of Rights – Are You Safe? Webinar to summarize key takeaways from the firm’s previously held in-person panel discussion with the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE). A recording of the webinar has been posted here for your convenience. Please contact Punam Sarad with any questions. Continue Reading Recorded Webinar Now Available for Viewing: San Francisco Formula Retail Worker Bill of Rights – Are You Safe?

California employers, is your workplace violence policy up to date? Are you taking all the measures you can to safeguard the workplace from a fatality connected to workplace violence? What follows is some information on high-risk industries, types of workplace violence, and preventative measures.

Why is Workplace Violence Such a Big Issue?

Statistics show that annual nearly two million American workers are victims of workplace violence. It is one of the leading four causes of fatalities over the past 15 years in the workplace. Continue Reading Preventing Workplace Violence Incidents: Five Things You Can Do Today

A California appellate court recently held that an employee diagnosed with an adjustment disorder triggered by stress caused by her supervisor’s standard oversight of her job performance is not disabled under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). Higgins-Williams v. Sutter Medical Foundation, 2015 Cal.App.LEXIS 455 (May 26, 2015). In so doing, the court bucked the current trend of expanding protection of employees unable to work due to medical conditions. Continue Reading Court Holds Adjustment Disorder Triggered by Stress at Work Is Not a Disability

A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of an employer’s motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). This decision is notable because the applicable dispute resolution policy, outlining the terms of arbitration, was contained within the company’s policy manual and detached from the employee’s signed acknowledgment of receipt of the manual. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision on the grounds the language of the employer’s dispute resolution policy, separately outlined within the company’s policy manual, expressly indicated a waiver of the right to a judicial forum for civil rights claims such that the employee “knowingly” agreed to arbitrate his Title VII claim. Michael Ashbey v. Archstone Property Management, Inc., No. 12-55912 (9th Cir., May 12, 2015). Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Finds Plaintiff Knowingly Agreed to Arbitration of Title VII Claims

On May 19, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council passed proposed legislation to considerably increase the City of Los Angeles’ minimum wage. The measure—which was approved by an overwhelming 14-1 vote—directs the City Attorney to write an Ordinance that will, if approved by a final vote of the Council and then the Mayor, increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. Continue Reading Los Angeles Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $15 Per Hour by 2020

In the uncertain world of the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), employers enjoyed a significant victory in Williams v. Superior Court (Marshalls) (Ct. App. 2d Dist. May 15, 2015), Case No. B259967. In Williams, the California Court of Appeal upheld a lower court order limiting a plaintiff’s request for the names and contact information of other non-exempt employees to those employees in the plaintiff’s work location until after he had “been deposed ‘for at least six productive hours’” regarding the facts supporting his statewide allegations. Williams is a significant limitation on a plaintiff’s ability to impose burdensome discovery obligations on an employer before the plaintiff makes a factual showing that “some reason exists to suspect [the employer’s] local practices extend statewide.” Continue Reading PAGA: Trial Court May Limit Scope Of Discovery To Plaintiff’s “Local Claims” Before Plaintiff Makes Showing Of Statewide Practices

On May 7, we conducted an in-person panel with the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) in San Francisco. We know many of you were unable to join us, and are therefore hosting a webinar session led by Jackson Lewis Shareholder Punam Sarad to summarize key takeaways from the panel discussion.

Background: San Francisco has added two ordinances that employers must comply with beginning July 3, 2015. The San Francisco Formula Retail Labor Protections Ordinance includes provisions that impact scheduling, on-call work, worker retention and time off for formula retail employees. Despite its name, the new law impacts many employers who are not in the retail industry including restaurants, movie theaters, fitness and gym facilities, financial services companies, spa, salon and massage establishments, and more. Join us to learn more about how the law impacts your business and best practices for ensuring compliance. Continue Reading Webinar: San Francisco Formula Retail Worker Bill of Rights – Are You Safe?

In a recent Ninth Circuit decision, the court held that “a piece of evidence [may not be disregarded] at the summary judgment stage solely based on its self-serving nature.” As a result, declarations created after summary judgment motions are filed may be sufficient to create genuine issues of material fact and, therefore, defeat summary judgment. This decision is particularly concerning because it allows a party to thwart summary judgment with little to no credible or corroborated evidence. Continue Reading Follow-up on: Be Careful What You Say—It Might End Up in a Declaration to Defeat Summary Judgment

Description

Presented by leading attorneys with a wide range of class action expertise, this full-day CLE program will dive into key strategies for defending and avoiding class actions and discuss new trends and challenges facing employers.

Topics Include:

·         Navigating PAGA Claims

·         Arbitration Agreements with Class Waivers and Rule 68 Offers of Judgment

·         Key Strategies in Defeating Class Certification

·         Mediation and Data Preparation: Using Statistical Evidence and Data Analysis to Your Advantage

·         Ethics: Communications with Putative Class Members Prior to Certification

·         Class Action Prevention and Self Audits

This program has been approved for 4.0 CLE hours of California General credit and 1.0 hour of Ethics credit.

Click here for the full agenda.

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Continue Reading You’re Invited: Jackson Lewis 2015 Employment Class Action Spring Summits

On May 4, 2015, the California Supreme Court ruled that a prevailing defendant in a California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) lawsuit can only recover ordinary litigation costs if it demonstrates that the plaintiff’s FEHA claims were frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.  (Williams v. Chino Valley Ind. Fire Distr. (Cal. Sup. Ct. May 4, 2015), Case No. S213100).  Prior to this ruling, a majority of California courts had ruled that a prevailing defendant in a FEHA case could recover costs as a matter of right.  As such, the Williams case significantly changes California’s employment litigation landscape by making cost shifting even more one-sided in favor of employees.

Continue Reading California Supreme Court: California Employers Face New Challenge In Recovering Post-Litigation Costs