By: James Kachmar

On May 16, 2012, a California Appellate Court issued its ruling in Fitzsimons v. California Emergency Physicians Medical Group and held that a partner could state a claim for unlawful retaliation against her partnership under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). Continue Reading Partnerships Beware! Partners May Have Claims for Unlawful Retaliation under FEHA

By: Chelcey E. Lieber

Attendance at work seems like an obvious requirement to keep a job, right? The unfortunate answer often given by lawyers to that question is, “it depends.” In the employee-friendly state of California, permitting telecommuting or exemptions to an attendance policy may be a reasonable accommodation if a person has a disability. However, recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that predictable attendance can be an essential function of certain jobs; in this case, the job of a neo-natal intensive care unit (“NICU”) nurse.Continue Reading Is Compliance with an Attendance Policy an Essential Function of the Job? The Ninth Circuit says “Yes!”

Thursday, May 17, 2012
9:00 a.m. – Registration and Breakfast
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Program
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor, Sacramento, CA

Can You Keep a Secret?

From trade secrets like product recipes and algorithms to confidential details about financing, customers and costs, all businesses have information that could be devastating if it were to fall into a competitor’s hands.Continue Reading UPCOMING SEMINAR: Protecting Trade Secrets – How to Manage Employee Use of Proprietary Information

By: Brendan J. Begley

The California Court of Appeal this week provided a shield to employers against attacks left open by the state Supreme Court’s momentous decision earlier this month concerning meal and rest periods. The appellate court in Kinecta Alternative Financial Solutions Inc. v. Superior Court (Malone), No. B235491, decided that a trial court in Los Angeles should have dismissed class-action allegations in a meal-and-rest-period lawsuit.Continue Reading Closing The Gap Left By Brinker RE Meal-And-Rest-Period Class Actions

By: Charles L. Post and James Kachmar

As many readers of this Blog know, we’ve been awaiting the California Supreme Court to issue its decision in the Brinker case. This morning it did so. As our attorneys continue to analyze the decision involving issues of employee rest periods and meal breaks, we will be publishing several blog updates in the coming days discussing the impact of the decision on California employers.Continue Reading CASE ALERT: California Supreme Court Hands Down Brinker Decision