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626-795-6001

Category: Employment Litigation

  • After a Weakening at the Ballot Box AB5 Supporters Get Win in Court

    Supporters of AB5 saw a huge defeat on Election Day with the passage of Proposition 22, which allows companies like Uber and Lyft to once again operate with its workers classified as independent contractors rather than as employers, as AB5 had required. However, AB5 continues to impact many businesses, including those in California’s large trucking…

  • Employment Changes Continue in California Amid Pandemic

    As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its impact, California’s response continues to change, which, in turn, keeps employers having to adjust on the fly. California’s legislature recently made a flurry of changes that business should be aware, not all of which are just pandemic related. Apart from COVID related measures, California passed a law requiring publicly…

  • Possible Shield Laws for Employers as Workers Return to Work

    While COVID continues to impact every part of society, businesses continue to struggle with how to operate safely. A major part of this consideration is keeping staff safe as and after they return. One concern for businesses in doing so is whether they’ll face liability if staff members become infected at work, an issue governments…

  • New hours of service regulations start in September

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has made changes to the hours of service (HOS) regulations. They state that the purpose is to give drivers more flexibility while maintaining safety standards. The new regulations passed on June 1, 2020, and go into effect on September 29, 2020.  Overview of changes The changes apply to the following…

  • California Continues Fight Against Classification of Workers by Uber and Lyft

    Since California’s passage of AB5, several lawsuits have arisen that challenge the law, with others testing its limits and impact. More recently, California has begun its attempts to enforce the law by targeting Uber and Lyft. In May, California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco County Superior Court alleging Uber and Lyft misclassify…

  • Could California’s AB5 Go National?

    As discussed previously on this blog, California’s AB5 is already rewriting employment law across a variety of sectors in California. Now the United States House of Representatives looks like it wants to use AB5 as a model for federal legislation. The House of Representatives recently passed a union backed bill that would use a similar approach to assessing…

  • California Trucking Association Starts New Year with Hope in Face of AB5

    As discussed previously on this blog, California’s AB5 is set to completely rewrite California’s employment law. With the law taking effect with the start of the new year, California’s trucking industry was facing unprecedented change. However, the California Trucking Association (“CTA”) got a key court victory on December 31, to beat out the countdown to midnight. At least…

  • Companies Fighting Back Against AB5

    California’s recent passage of AB 5 has caused waves across the state’s employment market. However, the passage of the bill is clearly not the final word. There are likely legal challenges to come and, beyond this, the companies most directly targeted by the bill are already fighting back. One step in the fight was taken by Uber,…

  • California Continues Push Back Against Gig Economy Employment Practices

    As discussed on this blog, California seems to be taking the lead nationwide in responding to companies like Uber and Lyft and their practices in classifying their workers. Initially, the Dynamex decision had the courts taking the lead, but more recently California’s Bill Assembly Bill 5 seeks to end worker classification practices the State disapproves of. AB 5 looks to…

  • California Rewrites Employment Law

    As covered on this blog, California has been taking steps to address classification of workers as independent contractors. While this has taken on different forms, including the monumental Dynamex decision, the state legislature recently finalized its own measure with the passage of AB5 to codify the ABC test set forth in Dynamex. The passage of the bill largely overhauls employment…

  • Dynamex ABC Test alters transportation law

    Since April 30, 2018, when the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Dynamex Operations West. v. Superior Court, California motor carriers, as well as many other businesses, have been struggling to deal with the unexpected new “ABC test” for deciding who is an independent contractor and who is an employee. Under its problematic B prong,…

  • The Supreme Court’s Revamping of Employee Arbitration Rights Continues

    In its last term, the United States Supreme Court began revamping employee arbitration rights, particularly with respect to class actions. With the current term under way, the Supreme Court has cases in front of it that could further alter these rights. The Court has before it two cases that once again analyze the permissible scope of employer…

  • Uber Picks Up Big Court Win with Help from a Recent Supreme Court Case

    When Uber entered the market, it began to revolutionize transportation. However, along the way it has faced obstacles that in many instances have found Uber in court. One major issue it’s facing is the claim by drivers that they are improperly treated by Uber as independent contractors rather than employees. In a current class action…

  • National Labor Relations Board Looks to Reduce Liability of Some Companies

    The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a renewed effort to limit liability for companies with workers that are not engaged specifically by the company. A new proposed rule would protect companies from lawsuits by persons hired by contractors or franchisees. The new proposed rule comes after an earlier attempt to change the policy was vacated…

  • California’s Business Community Reacts to Dynamex

    On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court upended the state’s independent contractor market with its decision in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court. The Court’s ruling changed the way the law will determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The case discards the decades-old test of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc.…

  • An Employer’s Duty to Track Employee Time Grows

    Keeping track of employee time to ensure wages are properly paid as required by law can be tricky. A new California Supreme Court ruling just made the requirement that much more taxing for employers of all types. In a case brought against Starbucks, an employee alleged he was required to perform several job duties after…

  • The Never-Ending Evolution of Social Media Continues to Challenge Employers

    Managing employees has always been a challenge for any employer, large or small; however, ever since the rise of social media sites like Facebook, the challenge has seemed to grow exponentially. Most recently it seems that the increasing exposure individual actions are receiving is testing employers in new ways. One example is the federal employee…

  • Fair Credit Reporting Act Class Action Defeated.

    In June 2018, Larson & Gaston’s employment litigation lawyers, led by Victor Cosentino, defeated a certified, nationwide, federal class action in the Central District of California for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Report Act’s (FCRA) authorization, disclosure and notice provisions, 15 U.S.C. § 1651b. The case was brought against a national motor carrier, a client of the…

  • An Epic Decision on Arbitration for Employees

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s latest employment litigation decision requires employees to focus on all the terms of the employment contracts they sign with their employers. When negotiating an employment contract, to the extent an employee can, people tend to focus on one main thing: pay. After that, some may be thinking about benefits and holiday time…

  • Don’t ask, don’t tell informs California law re prior salary history

    How would you feel upon discovering that, while you are at least as qualified as a co-worker doing the same work as you, that employee makes a materially higher wage than you do? We thought so. Many workers across the country understandably lack specific data on the salary histories and specifics relevant to their fellow…