Labor and Employment eNews

Clifford v. Quest Software Inc. (CA4/3 G055858, filed 7/23/19, ord. pub. 8/14/19) Arbitration/Unfair Competition Law. Different from a UCL claim seeking public injunctive relief, a UCL claim seeking private injunctive relief or restitution may be subject to arbitration. Read more

Thank you to those who participated in and attended our Wage and Hour Conference and Annual Meeting last month. This was our most well-attended Section event to date! Read more

The September issue of our Section’s Labor & Employment Law Review will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the enactment of FEHA. Current DFEH Director Kevin Kish provides an excellent overview in his article “FEHA at 60: Looking Back, Looking Forward.” DFEH’s Chief of Dispute Resolution, Annmarie Billotti (who is also a former member of the Section’s Executive Committee) adds an informative article titled “Did You Know DFEH Has a Dispute Resolution Division?” Read more

Monster Energy Company v. Schechter (SC S251392 7/11/19) Settlement Agreements/Attorneys’ Confidentiality Obligations (applicable to employment settlements). Attorneys may have been bound by the contractual confidentiality obligation in a settlement agreement when they approved it as to form and content and body of agreement referenced that they would be bound. Read more

Even seasoned litigators sometimes feel lost with questions such as how aggressively to open or how to move a negotiation forward without giving too much away. And even seasoned litigators sometimes leave mediation feeling frustrated because a client left money on the table, or paid too much, or a case that should have settled did not. Read more

The July issue of our Section’s Labor & Employment Law Review will feature two articles on "PAGA 15 Years Later," one from the perspective of the employer by Laura Reathaford, and one from the perspective of the employee by Glenn Danas. The authors review recent and ongoing significant PAGA cases, including one filed by the California Business & Industrial Alliance against the State of California that challenges PAGA as unconstitutional on an “as-applied” basis. Read more

Kisor v. Wilkie (US 18-15 6/26/19) Agency Deference Doctrine. Upholding Auer deference doctrine, whereby courts defer to an agency’s reasonable reading of the agency’s own ambiguous regulations. Read more

We are less than 10 days away from our best and largest event of the year, our 9th Annual Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 36th Labor and Employment Law Section Annual Meeting. As I mentioned last month, the combined conference will have something for everyone, and you can register to attend one or both days. Our Wage and Hour Conference, on July 18, will have an annual update, panels on Dynamex and PAGA, a wage-and-hour-ethics-themed trivia luncheon, and the much-loved judges panel with practical tips on litigating wage and hour class actions. Read more

The July issue of our Section’s Labor & Employment Law Review will feature an article by Laura Reathaford titled “State of the PAGA State: Where Do Things Stand 15 Years Later?” The author reviews recent and ongoing significant PAGA cases, including one filed by the California Business & Industrial Alliance against the State of California that challenges PAGA as unconstitutional on an “as-applied” basis. The author also discusses what she considers to be four problem areas for PAGA, and urges legislative corrections. Read more

Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l (9th Cir. 17-16096 5/2/19) Retroactive ABC Test/Franchises. Holding that the Dynamex ABC test applies retroactively, and applies in—and is not altered by—the franchise context. Read more