By Calvin House | Published June 23, 2015 | Posted in Uncategorized |
Four Wal-Mart pharmacists have filed a putative class action asserting that they were not paid for all the time that they devoted to an immunization certification training course. According to their second amended complaint, Wal-Mart encouraged its pharmacists to take the certification course so that the company could make more money through the administration of immunizations at its Read More
Read MoreIn Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348 (2014), the California Supreme Court ruled that claims to enforce civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), were not waivable, and refused to enforce a predispute agreement to arbitrate that purported to impose such a waiver. (Class action waivers must be enforced under AT&T Mobility Read More
Read MoreApplications from such companies as Xora, Teletrac, Track My Work Force, and boomr allow employers to track the whereabouts of their employees through GPS. One user of Xora’s application has now become the subject of an invasion of privacy lawsuit. As reported by the Courthouse News Service, Myrna Arias claims that Internex Wire Transfer violated her privacy by tracking her movements Read More
Read MoreEmployees frequently complain that they suffer stress symptoms from work. A supervisor makes an employee feel anxious. Dealing with customers all day gives another employee a headache. Working the night shift disrupts the digestive system. In such situations, it is not uncommon for the employee’s doctor to write a “work restriction” that the employee not Read More
Read MoreMany of the exemptions from the wage and hour laws require that the employee earn a “salary,” a term that is not defined in California law. The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement construes the wage orders to incorporate the federal salary basis test, as explained in a March 1, 2002 opinion letter. The U.S. Department Read More
Read MoreSettlement agreements with employees often provide that the employee will never again seek employment with the settling employer. Such provisions are probably essential to reaching settlement in some cases. A recent decision from the Ninth Circuit calls into question their validity. California Business and Professions Code section 16600 provides that “every contract by which anyone is Read More
Read MoreRecent news reports about class action lawsuits against Uber and Lyft provide an opportunity for revisiting the standards that courts and enforcement agencies use to determine whether an employment relationship exists between the provider of labor and the recipient of the benefits of the labor. Uber is the subject of a lawsuit entitled O’Conner v. Uber Technologies, Inc., currently pending Read More
Read MoreThe California Supreme Court continues to make law on enforcement of arbitration agreements. In Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare, 24 Cal.4th 83, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 745, 6 P. 3d 669 (2000), the Court ruled that an arbitration award on a claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is not enforceable unless the arbitrator issue a written arbitration Read More
Read MoreDisputes over the enforceability of class action waivers are percolating in several forums. Most recently, the National Labor Relations Board has rejected federal courts of appeals rulings that upheld class action waivers against attacks that they violate the National Labor Relations Act. In Murphy Oil USA, Inc., Case No. 10-CA-038804 (Oct. 28, 2014), the Board ruled Read More
Read MoreCalifornia and the U.S. Supreme Court have been engaged in a vigorous back and forth regarding arbitration for many years. In Southland Corp. v. Keating, 465 U.S. 1 (1984), the Supreme Court overturned a ban on arbitration imposed by the California Franchise Investment Law, because it violated the Federal Arbitration Act. That Act provides: “A written Read More
Read More