California’s hostility to non-compete agreements is well known among employers and employees. But now, with Governor Newsom signing AB 692, California has gone even further – now banning most “stay-or-pay” agreements that are signed on or after January 1, 2026. A “stay-or-pay” agreement requires an employee to pay the…
A new decision from the California Court of Appeals in Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc. confirms that an employee can prospectively waive a future meal period for a shift that does not exceed 6 hours so long as the prospective waiver is in writing, uncoerced, and revocable. Under…
California Courts are Refusing to Follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s Viking River Decision, which means that U.S. Supreme Court decision may not offer employers a clever PAGA escape hatch after all.
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,…
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…
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,…
On June 15, 2022, in a blockbuster case known as Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the U.S. Supreme Court finally answered a burning employment law issue here in California – whether California’s rule prohibiting the use of arbitration agreements to force an employee to waive her right…
In 2018, in response to the #MeToo movement, California passed SB 820, the STAND (Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure) Act. SB 820 prohibited using confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements in cases involving claims of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and workplace harassment or discrimination based on sex. We blogged about…
A recent Court of Appeal decision underscores the importance of reviewing severability provisions in arbitration agreements. In Kec V. Superior Court, Plaintiff Nichole Kec brought individual, class, and Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) claims against her former employer, defendants R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Reynolds American, Inc. (“Reynolds”),…
On June 15, 2020, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination and assures LGBTQ employees of equal treatment in all “terms and conditions”…