Employment

For many years wage and hour class actions were commonplace in California.  Plaintiffs’ lawyers could conjure up class action complaints from virtually nothing – sometimes completely nothing.  One claim that was often added was a claim under the California’s Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”).  Since the statute of limitations on a PAGA claim is one year, and the other class action claims often reached back…

A recently decided appeal in the 9^th Circuit held the correct causation standard to apply in discrimination cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is the “but for” standard rather than the “motivating factor” standard.   While not exactly a sea change in employment law, this decision is a welcome relief from the tidal wave of anti-employer statutes and case law in California.

In most employment-based arbitration scenarios, the employee signs an arbitration agreement before starting work — or at some point during his or her employment.  The employee then sues the employer for wage claims or some form of wrongful termination claim.

The California Attorneys General Act of 2004, Labor Code section 2698 et seq., often referred to as the “PAGA” is a fairly unique statute. The PAGA statute allows a private party to be “deputized” as a “private attorney general” for purposes of collecting civil penalties for certain enumerated Labor Code violations. Of course, this is in addition to a private party’s right to collect his or her alleged unpaid wages, and other…

Let’s face it.  Some administrative procedure requirements in employment law are like locking a door with a Cheeto – pretty pointless.  For example, California employees wanting to sue their employers for harassment or discrimination pursuant to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) must first obtain a “right to sue letter.”  Conveniently they can get one automatically by filing a complaint form with the Department of Fair…