As this blog frequently reminds its readers, California state courts take a hard look at arbitration agreements in the employment context. The recent case: Sparks v. Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services, from the Second Appellate District of California provides additional support for why employers need to be extra careful in establishing enforceable arbitration provisions.Continue Reading Employers: Relying on an Arbitration Provision In Your Employee Handbook May Not Protect You
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Employers – Have You Checked Your Documents Lately?
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Employment Contracts and Agreements, Labor Law
By: James Kachmar
As you know, documentation is essential to performing even routine HR functions. You have potential employees fill out numerous pre-hire documents. You have employees sign employment agreements and other documents when hired. During the course of employment, you have employees sign additional documents, such as acknowledgments regarding your employee handbook, change in employment status documents, etc. But have you sat down recently to review whether all of the documents you are having employees sign are consistent? The recent case of Grey v. American Management Services demonstrates why you should.Continue Reading Employers – Have You Checked Your Documents Lately?
Recent Developments Warrant Review of Arbitration Agreements
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Employment Contracts and Agreements
An employer’s ability to have disputes with employees resolved by arbitrators instead of courts had some ups and downs in recent days. One of those developments suggests that employers should review and perhaps revise their arbitration agreements to keep them enforceable in state court. The other development indicates that arbitration agreements will continue to be treated favorably by federal courts.Continue Reading Recent Developments Warrant Review of Arbitration Agreements
Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back! Class Action Waivers a Violation of the National Labor Relations Act
By Labor & Employment on
If you thought all the news from the NLRB these days had to do with Posters and Recess appointments, think again. On January 6, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board emphatically rejected an arbitration agreement that required employees to waive their class action rights. This opinion squarely rejected the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, wherein SCOTUS approved of class action waivers in compulsory arbitration agreements.
Continue Reading Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back! Class Action Waivers a Violation of the National Labor Relations Act
California Pre-Employment Arbitration Agreement Ruled Unconscionable
By Ramona Carrillo on
Posted in Employment Contracts and Agreements
Including arbitration provisions in employment agreements or employee handbooks is not a guaranteed way to avoid the courtroom. On January 3, 2012, the California Court of Appeal upheld a decision from the Sacramento County Superior Court holding that an arbitration provision contained in a pre-employment agreement was unconscionable, and, therefore, unenforceable.Continue Reading California Pre-Employment Arbitration Agreement Ruled Unconscionable