Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services that white, heterosexual, and other “majority group” employees are not required to meet a heightened standard in order to prove illegal employment discrimination. This decision puts majority group plaintiffs on the same legal footing as black, gay, and other minority… Read More
Posts Tagged With: U.S. Supreme Court
Landmark Supreme Court Decision Expands Whistleblower Protections
In a major victory for whistleblowers, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Trevor Murray, a former UBS employee who was fired after reporting what he believed to be illegal activity. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Murray v. UBS expands protections for whistleblowers under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), making it easier for employees… Read More
California’s Supreme Court Erases Viking River’s PAGA Victory for Employers
The California Supreme Court recently issued its highly anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber and answered the key question of whether the California courts would follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Viking River. The California Supreme Court’s answer was a resounding “NO.” Now, after Adolph v. Uber, an employee whose individual PAGA claims are… Read More
Supreme Court: Employers Must Accommodate Employees’ Religious Practices
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, in Groff v. DeJoy, that employers have a heightened duty to accommodate their employees’ religious practices.
California Courts are Refusing to Follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s Viking River Decision
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.
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
U.S. Supreme Court: No Separation of Church and Employer
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on two important cases relating to religion and employment. In both decisions, the Court came down squarely on the side of religious freedom, ruling in favor of employers. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School, two teachers brought employment discrimination claims against their former employers, both of which were Catholic… 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
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Class Action Waivers
It was only a few weeks ago. California employees and their lawyers were jubilant after the CA Supreme Court delivered its game-changing Dynamex decision that made it even harder for California employers to properly classify workers as independent contractors. As a result, employment protections were extended to millions of California workers who were also given the right… Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Determine Legality of Class Action Waivers in Employee Arbitration Agreements
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether class action waivers in employee arbitration agreements violate federal law. This is a huge development, with potentially far-reaching implications for many California employers. But, first, a little background (okay, actually it’s a lot of background, but it’s important) — Advantages of Arbitration Many employers require their… Read More
