Just when California employers thought things could not get any worse… In See’s Candies, Inc. v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal addressed the question of whether a family member of an employee who contracted COVID while at work can sue their family member’s employer for damages. The Court’s answer? A resounding “Yes.” The… Read More
Posts Tagged With: California Appellate Court
Court of Appeals Confirms That Arbitration Agreements Won’t Protect Employers from PAGA Litigation
California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) authorizes aggrieved employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for violations of the California Labor Code. Lawsuits brought under PAGA have resulted in employers paying millions of dollars in penalties that the state almost certainly would not have… Read More
Quit When You’re Ahead – An Expensive Lesson for One California Employer
In case there was any doubt, the California Court of Appeal recently delivered an expensive reminder of its pro-employee stance. Timothy King, a former Regional President for U.S. Bank, was recently awarded $15.6 million in damages based on a jury’s finding that U.S. Bank defamed and wrongfully terminated him in order to avoid paying him… Read More
Employers Catch a Break: No Attorneys’ Fees for Missed Meal and Rest Period Claims
Navigating the California Labor Code can leave California businesses feeling like they are walking through a field full of landmines, with stiff penalties and mandatory attorneys’ fees for violations often leading to devastating results. Recently, however, California employers caught a break. In Betancourt v. OS Restaurant Services, LLC, the Second District Court of Appeals ruled… 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
