On August 12, 2014, the California Court of Appeal issued a short, but interesting decision that may trigger a new wave of class action lawsuits against California employers. In Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Service, Inc. (opinion found here), the Court ruled that employers must reimburse employees for the reasonable cost of using their personal
Labor & Employment
California Supreme Court Clarifies Employers’ Right to Litigate Affirmative Defenses in Class Actions
By Labor & Employment on
Posted in Labor Law, Wage & Hour
On May 29, 2014, the California Supreme Court in Duran v. U.S. Bank National Association clarified employers’ rights in defending against employee misclassification class action cases. The Court held that in defending against such claims, employers must be permitted to present relevant defenses, even if such defenses involve individual issues. The Court’s analysis should have…
High Stakes High Tech Drama: Why Companies with Millions of Users Are Concerned About A Class Action Lawsuit By Thousands of Workers
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As you will recall from previous posts, a large high tech antitrust class action is being waged in California that has major implications for employer non-solicitation agreements. Questions regarding agreements between employers that impact employee mobility are being addressed in this lawsuit against the backdrop of antitrust allegations.
High-Tech Employee Mobility Antitrust Class Action: Background…
Roughneck Hazing Lands Nabors Drilling in a Blowout of a Verdict
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Posted in Harassment, Labor Law
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District upheld a $150,000 sexual harassment verdict and a $680,000 attorneys’ fee award against one of the Countries’ largest rigging and drilling company, Nabors. Given the nature of the allegations and the size of the award against the drilling tycoon, expect to see…
Who’s the Boss? New Bill Seeks to Redefine “Supervisor” Under Title VII
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Last year, the Supreme Court finally clarified the long open question: “Who is a Supervisor under Title VII?” As discussed in our previous post, in Vance, the Supreme Court held that a supervisor is someone who is “empowered by the employer to take tangible employment actions” against a complaining employee. Essentially, a “supervisor”…