Employment Law

August 17, 2010 | Article

NLRB Has Primary Jurisdiction of Representation Disputes; Parties Cannot Use Grievance Arbitration to Solve Those Issues

In International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District 15 v. J&R Flooring, Inc....

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August 17, 2010 | Article

Tip Pooling – No Private Right of Action Under Labor Code

It is common practice for restaurant and casino workers to pool tips.  Under a typical arrangement, all service employees who are not “agents” of the employer (i.e., wait staff and others in...

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June 28, 2010 | Article

Privacy and Employee Text Messaging: A New Frontier for the Courts

One of the hottest issues these days is whether an employee has a right of privacy with respect to personal email and/or text messages sent while at work. The use of email and text messaging to...

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April 27, 2010 | Article

California Supreme Court Upholds Employee’s Right to Pursue Arbitration Claim, But Offers An Option for Employers To Avoid Administrative Proceedings at the DFEH

Even thought a judge has a very limited power to overturn an arbitration award, if the arbitrator makes a clear error of law and thereby deprives a person of a statutory claim, the court may...

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April 23, 2010 | Article

Court Confirms Broad Authority for Arbitrators to Interpret Collective Bargaining Agreements

A recent decision from the First District Court of Appeal (Division Two) confirms that arbitrators have extremely broad authority to construe and interpret the meaning of labor contracts. The...

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April 23, 2010 | Article

Under FMLA, Front Pay is Equitable Remedy to be calculated by the Court and Not the Jury

Under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654) an employee is entitled to sue for damages if an employer violates the statute. Remedies include an award of back pay, as well...

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April 23, 2010 | Article

Overtime Laws Do Not Apply to Ministers Employed by Religious Institutions; Court Clarifies the “Ministerial Exception”

An interesting problem arises when employees of religious organizations contend they are entitled to overtime. If the person is an “ordinary” employee (such as an office secretary), overtime laws...

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February 8, 2010 | Article

PERB Rules On Public Employee Strikes and Damages Remedy

In a groundbreaking precedent, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has clarified that employee organizations possess the right to strike, provided the union has gone through...

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February 1, 2010 | Article

Court Supports Employee Claims for Overtime; Employer’s Contract Shortening Statute of Limitations is Invalid; Administrative Exception Does Not Apply

Employees who work more than 8 hours a day are entitled to overtime pay (one and one-half normal salary). The right to such compensation cannot be waived, and for that reason the California Court...

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February 1, 2010 | Article

Whistleblower Protection Applies to Statements Made In Good Faith

David Ohton, strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State University, was fired after he informed his superiors that the school’s football coach was drunk in public. He contended that when...

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November 11, 2009 | Article

State Court Follows Federal Precedent in Employee Free Speech Case

The California Court of Appeal has adopted the federal free speech standard in a state case involving a county law librarian who wrote a scathing email about his superiors and was terminated...

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November 6, 2009 | Article

Court Decides Free Speech Rights of Government Employees

If you are a government employee, you do not forfeit your first amendment rights. You still have the right to speak out on issues of public importance. But not everything you say is protected and...

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