On May 22, 2023, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision expanding employee whistleblower protection. In People ex rel. Garcia-Brower v. Kolla’s Inc., the Court held that the definition of the term “disclosure” in California Labor Code section 1102.5 includes reporting of a violation of a state or…
California’s anti-SLAPP statute — found in Code of Civil Procedure §425.16 — allows a defendant to request early judicial screening of a legal claim that targets that defendant’s protected free speech or petitioning activities. Until yesterday, it has been an open question in California as to whether or…
California has some of the strictest and most complicated wage and hour laws in the nation. And guess what? They’re even stricter and more complicated now after the California Supreme Court rejected the “de minimis” defense for employers in wage and hour disputes in California. What’s the “de…
California already has one of the most generous and employee-friendly overtime laws in the country. Employees in California earn overtime anytime they work over 8 hours in a day OR 40 hours in a week. Overtime is paid at 1.5 times the employee’s regular “rate of pay.” Calculating…
Yesterday, in a unanimous 7-0 opinion, the California Supreme Court held in Williams v. Marshalls of CA that plaintiffs suing employers in Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) are entitled to broad discovery rights. Specifically, the Court held that PAGA plaintiffs can force an employer-defendant to turn over the names and…
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court answered some admittedly “unsettled questions” under California law regarding an employer’s obligation to provide a day of rest to employees under California’s day of rest statutes (codified at Labor Code §550-558.1. These statutes prohibit an employer from “caus[ing] his employees to work more than six…
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc. that employers must relieve employees of all work duties during their 10-minute rest breaks. This landmark decision now means that employers must treat rest breaks and meal breaks the same — and that employers must…
California law states that the “prevailing party” in a lawsuit is entitled to recover its costs from the other party. The law defines the “prevailing party” as “the party with a net monetary recovery” and “a defendant in whose favor a dismissal is entered.” So what happens when…
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled in Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co. that an employee who uses a false Social Security number to fraudulently obtain his job may still sue his employer for discrimination and recover damages. At issue was whether a California state statute granting employment law rights…
On October 17, 2013, the CA Supreme Court overturned its February 2011 decision in Sonic Calabasas v. Moreno (“Sonic I”). Unfortunately, however, the dense, scholarly, 73-page opinion — known as Sonic Calabasas v. Moreno II (“Sonic II”) — gives little clarity to California employers trying to craft defensible,…