Labor & Employment Law Blog

On January 21, 2015, the California Court of Appeal held that the City of Santa Monica (the “City”) did not fail to reasonably accommodate an employee, Tony Nealy, where Nealy was unable to perform the essential functions of the job and there were no alternate positions for which Nealy was qualified.  Nealy v. City of Santa Monica, (California Ct App 02/13/2015).  The court also found that the City did not have ...

Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein rocked California’s Public Employees Retirement System (“CalPERS”) on October 1, 2014, verbally ruling that the City of Stockton may reduce pension payments in bankruptcy like its other debts. However, Judge Klein declined to issue a final ruling on Stockton’s bankruptcy plan, preferring to “reflect more carefully” until the parties’ next scheduled ...

On August 17, 2011, the California Court of Appeal held an employee does not have to be licensed as an attorney to qualify as an exempt employee under "learned professions" exemption of Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order 4-2001. This case is significant because it allows an employer to apply the learned professions exemption to individuals who may not be licensed. Employers can make individual determinations based on an individual's actual education, training, and duties. This permits a more flexible application of the exemption that takes into consideration the realities of a given situation.