Labor & Employment Law Blog

In Sanchez v. Swissport, Inc., the California Court of Appeal addressed for the first time the following question: Can an employee who exhausted all of her available leave under the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”) who was terminated when she was unable to return to work after exhausting all available PDLL leave state a claim for alleged sex discrimination or disability ...

In perhaps the first case to employ jury instructions based on the California Supreme Court’s recent holding in Harris v. City of Santa Monica that a plaintiff alleging discrimination in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) must prove that discrimination was a “substantial factor” motiving the challenged action of the employer and not just a factor, in Rodriguez ...

On February 7, 2013, the California Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated decision that significantly impacts the ability of employees to prove their employment discrimination claims and recover damages under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”).  In Harris v. City of Santa Monica (Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC341469), a bus driver alleged the City of Santa ...

A new year often presents a suitable opportunity to review important employment policies. Although policies concerning the “acceptable use of electronic resources” were a novelty only a decade ago, they have now become so common that employers may neglect to review them from time to time to be sure they are still current. A policy written in 2005 could be out of date if it does not accommodate advances in ...

On January 25, 2013 the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals refused to enforce an NLRB ruling involving unfair labor practice allegations against employer Noel Canning.

In a dispute with Constitutional and political implications, the Court ruled that two of the three members of the NLRB panel, whose ruling was appealed, were not validly appointed. The appointment and authority ...

In California, employers are required to have workplace postings regarding employee rights and responsibilities under the Fair Employment and Housing Act which are produced by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”). California recently updated three of these mandatory DFEH posters as a result of revisions to state law that went into effect on January 1, 2013.

Specifically, the DFEH ...

In Carr Finishing Specialist, Inc., 358 NLRB No. 165 (9/28/12), the NLRB ruled that a contractor that was signatory to an Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Iron Workers Union remained bound to a newly-negotiated agreement when the company did not timely revoke the authority it gave to multiemployer bargaining association to negotiate on its behalf.

In the past several months, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a series of decisions that could affect everyday policies that union and non-union employers maintain in the workplace. The decisions are summarized below.

Complaints alleging violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) will be handled differently by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) beginning January 1, 2013.

On August 31, 2012, AALRR attorneys Irma Rodriguez Moisa and Sharon J. Ormond obtained a unanimous jury defense verdict in favor of The Regents of the University of California after a 14-day jury trial.  The Plaintiff, James Friedman, was laid off from his position at the University of California at Los Angeles in April 2010 after a reorganization of his unit resulted in his position being eliminated.  He ...