Labor and Employment eNews

Erhart, an internal auditor, copied, transmitted and retained various documents he claimed showed his employer’s possible wrongdoing. Read more

n awarding attorney fees, a court may apply, in its discretion, a positive or negative multiplier to adjust the lodestar calculation—a reasonable rate times a reasonable number of hours—to account for various factors, including attorney skill. Read more

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