Labor and Employment eNews

September 2023 Barrera v. Apple American Group LLC (CA1/2 A165445 8/31/23) Post-Adolph PAGA Arbitration  The court reversed in part and affirmed in part the trial court’s order denying defendants’ motion to compel arbitration of claims under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq.) Based on Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (2022) 596 U.S. ___ Read more

Boermeester v. Carry (SC S263180 per curiam 7/31/23) Private Universities’ Title IX Hearings. When investigating and disciplining students accused of sexual misconduct or intimate partner violence under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, private universities are required to comply with the common law doctrine of fair procedure by providing accused students with notice of the charges and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Read more

Brown, the elected treasurer of the City of Inglewood, brought a retaliation claim under Labor Code section 1102.5 alleging the City Council no longer allowed her to sit on the dais at Council meetings because Brown had raised allegations of financial impropriety by Council members. Read more

Duran v. EmployBridge Holding Co. (CA5 F084167, filed 4/27/23, ord. pub. 5/30/23) PAGA Arbitration  The applicable arbitration agreement stated that “claims under PAGA … are not arbitrable under this Agreement.” The court found it not objectively reasonable to interpret the phrase “claims under PAGA” to include some PAGA claims while excluding others, and thus the carve-out provision excluded all PAGA claims from the agreement to arbitrate. Accordingly, the court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the motion to arbitrate Duran’s… Read more

The July Law Review opens with an MCLE article by Beth W. Mora that looks back at #MeToo—the social movement launched by a single tweet that received more than 12 million responses in its first 24 hours—and considers the legislative reforms that movement spurred across the nation, as well as the pending bills it inspired. Read more

It is with great concern and determination that I write this month’s message, as we collectively strive to combat the injustices that continue to persist in our society. Read more

Atkins v. St. Cecilia Catholic School (CA2/8 B314220 4/28/23) Ministerial Exception The trial court granted St. Cecilia’s motion for summary judgment on Atkins’ age discrimination claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) Read more

Seifu v. Lyft, Inc. (CA2/4 B301774 3/30/23) Arbitration| PAGA Waiver. Plaintiff filed suit against Lyft under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) (Lab. Code, § 2698 et seq., alleging that Lyft misclassified him and other drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, thereby violating multiple provisions of the Labor Code. Under Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (2022) ___ U.S. ___ [142 S.Ct. 1906] Read more

I want to remind folks that the deadline to apply to become a member of our Section’s Executive Committee is coming up on April 15, 2023. You can apply here and I look forward to hopefully working with you in the future! Read more

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