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.
Posts Categorized In: Employment Agreements
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
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
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
U.S. Supreme Court Delivers Bombshell PAGA Ruling in Favor of Employers
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 to bring a representative action under PAGA… Read More
#MeToo in 2022: New Restrictions on Employer Confidentiality Agreements
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 SB820 previously here. After SB 820 became… Read More
Note to Employers: Craft Your Arbitration Agreements Carefully
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”), as well as three individual employees at… Read More
Supreme Court Bombshell: Title VII Protects LGBTQ Employees from Workplace Discrimination
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” of employment. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump… Read More
Employers, Beware: Right to Arbitrate can be Waived
Arbitration agreements that are well-drafted and “state-of-the-art” under current California law are key to ensuring that employment disputes will be resolved by final and binding arbitration. But a recent California Court of Appeal case – Fleming Distribution Co. v. Younan (Cal. Ct. App., May 15, 2020, No. A157038) 2020 WL 2511680 – is a cautionary… Read More
Pay Your Arbitration Fees Late? Risk Losing Your Right to Arbitrate
Senate Bill (“SB”) 707, which became effective on January 1, 2020, creates substantial consequences for employers that fail to pay the costs and fees associated with the arbitration on time. Specifically, after January 1, 2020, an employer that fails to pay arbitration fees within 30 days after such fees are due will be held to… Read More
