In this age of expensive class-action litigation, many California companies have found solace in their arbitration agreements. Under certain circumstances, the enforcement of such agreements includes the dismissal of class action claims. This has largely been made possible by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) which requires judges to enforce a wide range of written arbitration agreements notwithstanding contrary state law. California courts have a long history of delivering rulings that attempt to narrow the scope and effect of the FAA. As one of the latest examples, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District held that truck drivers who complete only intrastate deliveries are exempt from the FAA because their work was part of a “continuous stream of interstate travel.”
Continue Reading Certain Delivery Drivers Are Exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act and May Proceed with Class Actions
Sexual Orientation Discrimination Not Recognized Under Title VII
Federal law has long prohibited discrimination based on a person’s sex. In recent years, several courts have held that discrimination based on failure to conform to a gender stereotype is a form of prohibited sex-based discrimination. But courts across the country have been more divided about whether those same laws preclude discrimination based on one’s
Changing Overtime Policy May Constitute Retaliation
They say that everything is bigger in Texas. That now may be true for the risk that an employer’s change to its overtime policies will result in a claim filed by an employee alleging retaliation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). That increased risk stems from a ruling by the Texas Court
7th Circuit To Revisit Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ruling
On October 11, 2016, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted en banc (by the full court) review in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. This rare move means that the entire Seventh Circuit court will reconsider its previous decision, which was originally issued on July 28, 2016.
Kimberly Hively began teaching as a
Ninth Circuit Weighs In On Class Action Waivers
A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit continues to leave employers uncertain as to the enforceability of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. The Seventh and Ninth Circuits are on one side of the issue, and the Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits on the other. The Seventh and