Recent Articles

Ninth Circuit Upholds Tip Poolling Under FLSA

February 24, 2010 14:55

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not prohibit employers from allocating tips under a tip pool, if the employer does not apply a "tip credit" to satisfy the minimum wage obligation.The Fair Labor Standards Act permits payment of a sub-minimum wage to tipped workers, so long as the base subminimum...

U.S. Supreme Court Breathes Life Into Removal Statute

February 24, 2010 13:32

Employers usually prefer federal court over California state court. Federal court practice includes a unanimous jury, tough rules that drive plaintiff attorneys nuts, judges that seem to grant summary judgment more readily, and other perceived benefits.Federal courts don't routinely hear state law...

No Attorney's Fees for Minimal Recovery in FEHA Case

February 22, 2010 02:24

The California Supreme Court held that trial courts may deny attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs in discrimination cases brought under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, if the plaintiff recovers less than the $25,000 jurisdictional minimum for superior court. The plaintiff recovered about...

No Short Limitations Periods for Wage Claims

February 22, 2010 02:08

The Court of Appeal held an employer could not include in an employment agreement applicable to wage and hour claims. The court also held that the plaintiff was entitled to judgment as a matter of law against the defendant's administrative exemption. The case involved recruiting managers. The...

DFEH to Issue Procedural Regulations

February 22, 2010 00:16

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has proposed a series of procedural regulations regarding, among other things, how charges are processed. The proposal codifies the DFEH's case-handling procedures, which have not been included in the agency's regulations up to now. The...

Kin Care Case

February 18, 2010 21:58

The California Supreme Court decided that unlimited sick leave is not subject to California's "kin care" law. We blogged about this case (the court of appeal's opinion), McCarther v. Pacific Telesis, here.To remind you - the company had an unlimited paid sick leave policy. You could take up to...

Court of Appeal Upholds Arbitration Agreement

February 07, 2010 01:27

I know, I've been remiss in my blogging. Blame it on Jennifer Shaw's new baby. She can't read yet.So, the Court of Appeal in Dotson v. Amgen (opinion here) held that Amgen's arbitration agreement was lawful. Specifically, a limitation of one deposition per side unless the arbitrator ordered more...

Pregnancy Disability Update. Sort of.

January 21, 2010 01:12

As some of you know, Jennifer Shaw is my partner, chief rainmaker, and employment lawyer extraordinaire, over here at Shaw Valenza. As a partner, she is not entitled to Pregnancy Disability Leave under California law. You can read about that in this article I recently wrote for the SF Daily...

More Employment Law from the Defense Appropriations Act

January 11, 2010 02:06

Yep, the recent extension of the discount on COBRA premiums is part of our national defense effort. The 2010 Defense Department Appropriations Act contained an extension of the COBRA premium discount (enacted in Feb. 2009 as part of the ARRA stimulus bill) through February 28, 2010. A US DOL...

Arbitration of Employment Law Claims - Going Away?

January 11, 2010 01:57

Did you know that the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill is actually an employment law bill? Well, when Congress keeps passing laws over with 100's of pages of text, you're going to see some hidden gems in there. So, the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, which was H.R. 3326, appears to make the first...