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Dynamex Impact on California Businesses – Revisiting Dynamex One Year Later

It has been more than a year since the California Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, setting forth a new test for determining whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor for wage order claims. As many commentators explained, the court significantly changed the […]

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AM
Former Associate

Wall Street Journal Notes Growing Clouds Over Restrictive Covenants

Harriett Torrey of the Wall Street Journal wrote on Monday of this week that there is a growing backlash against employers getting in the way of workers quitting jobs for better offers and to secure a better living. There are two very strong public policies at war here.  One is that there should be no […]

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Dynamex Applied Retroactively By The Ninth Circuit

Two days after the one year anniversary of the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision,  the Ninth Circuit issued a blow to companies in California. On May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. held that the Dynamex decision adopting the more difficult to meet ABC test to determine whether workers […]

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Supreme Court to Consider Whether Title VII Covers LGBT Bias

On Monday, April 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court said that it will hear three cases that turn on whether existing civil rights bans on discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 include discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. The decision will determine the issue that has […]

2019 Legislative Changes for California Severance and Settlement Agreements

Employers often find themselves in a bind – they need to let an employee go quickly and they want the employee to sign a release of all claims, so they dust off the severance agreement they used last time around, change the name and payment terms, and present it to the employee. Attorneys will warn […]

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California Meal and Rest Break Rules Are Preempted by Federal Law for Property-Carrying Truck Drivers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) recently ruled that California’s meal and rest break rules are preempted by the Motor Carrier Safety Act (“MCSA”), 49 U.S.C. § 31141, as applied to property-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers covered by the FMCSA’s hours of service regulations. The MCSA proscribes certain requirements for commercial motor vehicles operating […]

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Can California Payroll Companies Be Held Liable for Wage Statement Claims?

California law provides that a payroll service provider cannot be held liable for labor code violations –  but, a California appeals court recently held that employees may pursue tort claims against payroll service providers under a theory that the payroll service provider is a third-party beneficiary of the employer’s contract with the employee. On December […]

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AM
Former Associate

Might There Be an End in Sight to the Private Attorney General Act?

On November 28, 2018, a newly created association representing California-based employers called the California Business & Industrial Alliance filed a complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief against the California Attorney General seeking to enjoin the enforcement of the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) and declare it unconstitutional. While PAGA took effect in 2004 – to […]

California Court of Appeal Finds Employee Non-Solicitation Agreement Unenforceable

Previously, agreements prohibiting former employees from soliciting a former employer’s employees were generally considered enforceable, so long as they had reasonable terms. Earlier this month, however, the California Court of Appeal issued a decision, AMN Healthcare v. Aya Healthcare Services Inc., calling into question the validity of any employee non-solicitation agreement. The Court in AMN […]

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California Construction Industry, Are They The Next Ripe Target For Private Attorney General Act Claims? Hint-The Answer Is Yes.

In January, California ushered in a new law designed to strengthen wage protections for employees who work under private construction contracts. The law makes all “direct contractors” potentially liable for wages incurred by an employee of any subcontractor-at any tier. The statute attempts to limit the remedies to those of unpaid wages, fringe or benefit […]

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