Labor and Employment eNews

Galaza v. Mayorkas (9th Cir. 21-15464 2/28/23) Aviation and Transportation Security Act | Preemption over Rehabilitation Act  The ASTA establishes basic qualifications for the position of ATSA security screener, and vests the Administrator of the TSA with the authority to determine additional employment standards and training for security screeners. The Rehabilitation Act protects qualified individuals with disabilities from being subjected to discrimination under activity conducted by any Executive agency because of his or her disability. 29 U.S.C. § 794(a).  The ATSA authorized the Administrator… Read more

The March 2023 issue of our Section’s California Labor & Employment Law Review leads off with an MCLE article questioning the impartiality and independence of attorney workplace investigations by Andrew H. Friedman and Courtney Abrams. Read more

I am happy to announce that we’ve extended the application deadline to become a member of our Section’s Executive Committee. The new deadline is April 15, 2023.   Read more

Casson v. Orange County Employees Retirement System (CA4/3 G060950 1/30/23) Public Sector Disability Retirement The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 allows an employee entering a county pension system who has prior service credit with another public pension system to elect reciprocity between the two pensions. Government Code section 31838.5 precludes a “disability allowance” that exceeds the amount a member would receive had he or she stayed in a single pension system. Because Casson did not elect reciprocity when he became… Read more

Happy February! As we celebrate Black History Month, I want to take this occasion to honor the achievements of Black leaders, past and present, who have fought for justice, equality, and respect for all individuals in society and the workplace. Read more

The California Public Records Act exempts from disclosure “[r]ecords of state agencies related to activities governed by [the Ralph C. Dills Act granting collective bargaining rights to state employees] that reveal a state agency’s deliberative processes, impressions, evaluations, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research, work products, theories, or strategy.” (§ 6254, subd. (p)(1).) Under its plain language and applying the canon of ejusdem generis, the exemption is not limited to documents that reveal an agency’s deliberative processes. The California Department of Human Resources was not required to search the State Controller’s database for CPRA-responsive records because Read more

Hope everyone’s 2023 is off to a good start! I have lots of items to share with you in this month’s message:  Read more

Code of Civil Procedure sections 1281.97 and 1281.98 provide that if a company or business that drafts an arbitration agreement does not pay its share of required arbitration fees or costs within 30 days after they are due, the company or business is in “material breach” of the arbitration agreement, and an employee or consumer can, among other things, withdraw his or her claim from arbitration and proceed in court. The trial court correctly allowed De Leon’s claims to proceed in court when Juanita’s Foods was late paying arbitration fees because the statutory 30-day deadline is a bright-line rule that does not give the trial court discretion to consider additional factors such as delay or prejudice. Read more

Applying Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. (2022) 142 S.Ct. 1708, the court declined to require a showing of prejudice to establish waiver of the right to arbitrate. Read more

Under Labor Code section 1138, no labor organization involved in a labor dispute may be held liable for the unlawful acts of individual officers, members, or agents, “except upon clear proof of actual participation in, or actual authorization of those acts.” The trial court improperly denied a union’s anti-SLAPP motion because the union’s picketing conduct was protected activity and the employer failed to proffer evidence that would clearly prove the union participated in or authorized various unlawful actions by picketers. Read more