In Brennan v. Opus Bank, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal law controlled the issue whether an employment contract dispute was arbitrable where the agreement was covered by the Federal Arbitration Act, and the parties did not clearly and unmistakenly designate that nonfederal
California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) Is Constitutional
In Connor v. First Student, Inc., the Court of Appeal held that the California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) is not unconstitutionally vague. The ICRAA and the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) regulate agencies that gather information on consumers to provide
California Supreme Court Clarifies Methods Of Proof In Class Action Cases
In Duran v. US Bank, N.A, the California Supreme Court clarified the methods of proof permitted in class action cases. There, loan officers for the bank sued for overtime, claiming they were misclassified as exempt employees under the outside salesperson exemption. The case went to trial. The trial
“Death Knell” Doctrine Does Not Apply When PAGA Claim Remains In Trial Court
In Munoz v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Court held that the “death knell” doctrine did not apply and a claim was not appealable. Under California law, an order denying a motion to certify all class claims leaving only the named plaintiff’s individual claims in the trial court is an appealable
Employer Should Withhold Payroll Taxes When Paying Judgment After Lawsuit
In Cifuentes v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Cifuentes won a judgment for lost wages against his former employer, Costco. Costco withheld federal and state payroll taxes from the award when paying it. Cifuentes claimed the judgment was not satisfied, citing the decision in Lisec v. United Airlines,
Court Rejects Forum Selection and Choice Of Law Clauses In Employment Contract, Ruling For California Employee
In Verdugo v. Alliantgroup, L.P., the Court rejected a forum selection clause and choice of law clause in an employment contract. There the plaintiff filed an action in California. The company filed a motion to stay based on a forum selection clause in her employment agreement. The clause designated
Security Guards Are Entitled To Compensation For All “On-Call” Time
In Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc., the California Supreme Court held that on-call security guards employed to provide security, who were required to spend time on active patrol and then spend night hours on call at the worksite and to respond to issues, if necessary, were entitled to
Parent Corporations May Be Liable For Acts of Employees Of Its Subsidiary
In Castaneda v. The Ensign Group, Inc., the Court held that where a corporation with no employees, owned a corporation with employees, and defendant with no employees exercised some control over the corporation with employees, triable issues of fact existed as to whether defendant was the employer