What was Viking River? A year ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its bombshell ruling in Viking River and held that employers can use a properly drafted arbitration agreement to force an employee to arbitrate the individual portion of her PAGA claim. The remaining representative portion of her PAGA claim – where that same… Read More
Employers Beware: Don’t Allow Employees to e-Sign Arbitration Agreements
Many (wise) California employers use arbitration agreements requiring employees to submit any future employment-related dispute to mandatory arbitration. Arbitration is typically favored by employers because it is cheaper, faster, and more private than litigation. There’s also the perception that arbitrators are more conservative and less emotional than jurors, which employers believe translates into more friendly… Read More
The Beginning of the End for California’s Independent Contractor Law AB 5?
California’s strict independent contractor law known as AB 5 – which prohibits businesses from classifying a worker as an independent contractor unless they can pass all three prongs of the stringent “ABC Test” – may soon be a thing of the past. On March 17, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in Olson… Read More
NLRB Issues Bombshell Ruling on Contractual Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Clauses
On February 21, 2023, the now Democratically-controlled National Labor Relations Board ruled in McLaren Macomb that the use of confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violates the federal National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) because they restrict workers from engaging in “protected activity.” The Board ruled that the confidentiality clause at issue in McLaren Macomb… Read More
Federal Court Blocks Implementation of CA’s Anti-Arbitration Statute AB 51
In a rare win for California employers the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that AB 51 could not be enforced in California because it unduly burdened the right to agree to arbitration in violation of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). AB 51 is the California statute that, in effect, prevented employers for asking… Read More
Workplace Legal’s Blog Selected to “Top Employment Law Blogs” List
On February 9, 2023, Feedspot announced that Workplace Legal’s blog had been selected as one of the top employment law blogs in California. Feedspot’s ranking of the “70 Best Employment Law Blogs” lists Workplace Legal at #41, ahead of several national employment law firms. We spend a lot of time here at Workplace Legal staying… Read More
The Best Employee Benefit Employers Don’t Know They Can Offer
Last week, the Federal Reserve reported that American owed $1.76 trillion in student loan debt. For the class of 2021/2022, which is the most recent data available, 53% of students graduated with student loan debt, and the average loan debt was $22,600. According to popular consumer finance site, NerdWallet, the average U.S. household with student… Read More
California Announces New Guidance on Mandatory Payroll Data Reporting
California law requires employers with 100 or more U.S. employees to annually submit data on the pay, hours worked, and demographics of all employees who either work within California or who are assigned to a California establishment, even if they reside or telework from another state. This data must be submitted every year to the… Read More
Scholars Claim Best Work-From-Model is “Organized Hybrid”
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Stanford Professor of Economics Nicholas Bloom and his co-authors argue that today’s work-from-home push is being hampered by a “major disconnect” between employees and management. That disconnect centers around notions of productivity and attendance. With respect to productivity, for example, managers believe that work from home reduces productivity… Read More
FTC Proposes Nationwide Ban on Non-Compete Clauses
On Thursday, January 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new proposed rule that would ban employers nationwide from using non-compete clauses. These clauses, which are often inserted into employment agreements, typically prohibit the employee from leaving the employer’s business and, for a 1- or 2-year period, working for any other business that competes… Read More
