Over the years, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken aim at common language in settlement and severance agreements regarding nondisclosure and confidentiality. It has been relatively commonplace for such agreements to include language that requires, for example, the settling or departing employee to agree not to disclose the employer’s confidential information or trade secrets,... Continue Reading
In Espinoza v. Hepta Run, Inc., the California Court of Appeal reiterated that federal law preempts California meal and rest period requirements for motor carriers and confirmed such preemption also applies to short-haul drivers. A truck driver filed a complaint against his employer alleging various wage and hour violations, including failure to provide meal and... Continue Reading
Last year the California Supreme Court agreed to take up a question from the 9th Circuit regarding the evidentiary standard for whistleblower retaliation claims brought under California Labor Code section 1102.5. The California Supreme Court in Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc, held that Labor Code section 1102.6 “provides the governing framework for the presentation... Continue Reading
Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1561 (AB 1561) to extend the sunset dates on the exemptions granted to licensed manicurists and construction trucking subcontractors from the provisions of Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5). AB 5 sets forth the test for whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. The exemptions will now sunset... Continue Reading
When does the statute of limitations period begin to run on a harassment claim? The California Supreme Court has ruled in Pollock v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services, Inc. that the time to file a cause of action for failure to promote brought under the harassment provision of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) starts to run...… Continue Reading
When does the statute of limitations period begin to run on a harassment claim? The California Supreme Court has ruled in Pollock v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services, Inc. that the time to file a cause of action for failure to promote brought under the harassment provision of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) starts to... Continue Reading
Is the California Supreme Court about to make it more difficult to dispose of whistleblower retaliation claims? That may well be the case. The Supreme Court has agreed to answer the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ question about California law and unlawful retaliation against an employee in Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. In particular,... Continue Reading
