On December 17, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Jankey v. Lee. The Court ruled that prevailing defendants in disability access cases brought under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and California Civil Code section 55 are entitled to their attorney’s fees just like prevailing plaintiffs are. The issue was vehemently disputed between that segment of the plaintiff’s bar that specializes in “shake-down” disability access lawsuits, and the California business community.Continue Reading The California Supreme Court Issued A Win For Businesses Who Prevail In Disability Access Cases In California
Ramona Carrillo
A Reminder to Employers of the Need for Social Media Policies
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Trade Secrets and Competition
By: James Kachmar
Those of you who attended our seminar on protecting confidential and trade secret information last Spring may recall our discussion about a trade secret misappropriation case involving a Twitter account. In that case, PhoneDog v. Kravitz, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129229 (N.D. Cal. 2011), a product news and review company, PhoneDog, claimed it issued Twitter accounts to its employees so that they could publish content for users to support PhoneDog’s business. When one employee, Kravitz, left PhoneDog, he refused to provide PhoneDog with access to the Twitter account he was assigned, changed its handle to delete references to PhoneDog, and continued to use it (with its 17,000 followers) for personal purposes.Continue Reading A Reminder to Employers of the Need for Social Media Policies
Facebook Pictures Enough for the Sixth Circuit to Uphold the Employer’s “Honest Belief” Defense (Sara Jaszczyszyn v. Advantage Health Physician Network)
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in FMLA and Other Leaves of Absence, Labor Law
Let’s say an employee was “completely incapacitated” and needs to take leave due to a back injury. The employee is granted leave, but then terminated while on leave. This sets the perfect stage for a successful interference and retaliation claim, right? The Court in Jaszczyszyn v. Advantage Health Physician Network disagreed (full opinion may be found here: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/12a1152n-06.pdf).Continue Reading Facebook Pictures Enough for the Sixth Circuit to Uphold the Employer’s “Honest Belief” Defense (Sara Jaszczyszyn v. Advantage Health Physician Network)
NLRB Continues Crackdown on Company Social Media Policies
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Labor Law
By: James Kachmar
Those of you who attended our November 15, 2012 seminar, “Risks and Benefits of Social Media and Computers in the Workplace,” heard us discuss recent actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) regarding Social Media Use Policies adopted by employers to address the many issues that may arise with the increased use of social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) by their employees. As we mentioned, the NLRB was slow to address the issue of social media in the workplace. However, the NLRB has recently become much more active and more critical in how it views social media policies and their impact on the rights of employees to organize.Continue Reading NLRB Continues Crackdown on Company Social Media Policies
San Jose Joins San Francisco in Adopting Its Own Minimum Wage Requirement
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Labor Law, Wage & Hour
On November 6, 2012, nearly sixty percent of San Jose’s residents voted to raise San Jose’s minimum wage to $10.00. In doing so, San Jose became the fifth city in the United States to institute a higher minimum wage than otherwise required, joining San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Albuquerque and Santa Fe.