As we reported here, a split in authority has developed in the California Court of Appeal regarding what to do when an employer moves to compel arbitration of a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that is “headless”—that is, a claim seeking penalties on behalf of all allegedly aggrieved employees except the named plaintiff. (This
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Court Reverses $10 Million Sexual Harassment Verdict Due To Judge’s “Bizarre Comments”
By Tony Oncidi & Laura Vaughn
On April 7, 2025, the California Court of Appeal reversed a whopping $10 million verdict in favor of an employee in a sexual harassment case due to the trial judge’s improper evidentiary rulings and inappropriate comments during the post-judgment phase of trial. Odom v. Los Angeles Cmty. Coll. Dist., No. B327997, 2025 WL 1021951,…
March 2025 California Employment Law Notes
By Tony Oncidi
We invite you to review our newly-posted, March 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include:
- $2.16 Million Defamation Verdict Is Voided On Appeal
- USPS Employee’s Hostile Work Environment Claim Can Proceed
- Employer Did Not Violate FEHA By Denying Employee
…
For At Least One Employer, Reliance on an Outdated Arbitration Agreement Proved to be a Losing Gamble
As we have reported time and again, California courts have applied extra scrutiny to employee arbitration agreements in recent years, and have not hesitated to deny arbitration where there is a reasonable basis for doing so. This trend demands that employers be vigilant and update arbitration agreements when developments in the law implicate them. …
What Would John Wilkes Booth Do? Mandatory COVID Vaxes for Actors
Although the threat of COVID-19 (remember that?) seems to have diminished considerably over the past five years, once upon a time in Hollywood many production companies (along with other employers) required employees to be vaccinated upon pain of losing their job.
In early 2022, Apple Studios LLC conditionally offered actor Brent Sexton the role of…
The Headless PAGA Saga Continues
On February 26, 2025, in Parra Rodriguez v. Packers Sanitation, Inc., the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District) issued the latest published decision addressing the practice of filing so-called “headless” Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims. In such cases, the plaintiff seeks civil penalties for all allegedly aggrieved employees except themself. In the…
It’s That Time Of Year Again – California Pay Data Reporting Is Due May 14, 2025!
As California private employers of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors may know, it is time to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the Civil Rights Department (“CRD”).
Although this year’s reporting requirements are mostly the same as last year’s (previously covered here), CRD…
“Have It Your Way,” California! $20 Minimum Wage Backfires
By Tony Oncidi & Laura Vaughn
In late 2023, California supersized the minimum wage for fast food workers by a whopping 25 percent (increasing it from $16 to $20). This law was opposed by the fast food industry, while labor unions (and their many friends and admirers in Sacramento) insisted it would “benefit workers.”
Well, the results are in. According to…
Another Arbitration Agreement Bites the Dust!
By Tony Oncidi & Sehreen Ladak
The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here.
This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) overrides state law—even in cases in which the employee has signed an arbitration agreement that…
Does an Arbitration Agreement Require the Employer’s Signature? Read the Fine Print
The California Court of Appeal recently reminded employers in an unpublished (but nonetheless chastening) opinion of the importance of carefully drafting arbitration agreements. In Pich v. LaserAway, LLC et al, the court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the employer’s motion to compel a former employee’s representative wage-and-hour suit to arbitration because the arbitration agreement…