Last week, former CDF Labor Law attorney, and current CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce (“Cal Chamber”), Jennifer Barrera, published a compelling argument surrounding the issues concerning the California Private Attorney General Act and a ballot measure on the Act coming up next year. California Law Helping Workers File Labor Claims Needs Reform – Advocacy – California Chamber of Commerce (calchamber.com). According to Ms. Barrera’s article, over the last six years, attorneys representing employees on PAGA claims obtained an eight billion dollars in PAGA settlements from California employers– an astonishing amount. Ms. Barrera’s article also indicates that despite this number, individual employees receive a pittance from these actions. The article cited to a 2019 report from former California Labor Commissioner Julie Su and other officials of the California Labor Commissioner’s office that expressly provided that “The substantial majority of proposed private court settlements in PAGA cases review by [the Labor Commissioner’s office] fell short of protecting the interests of the state and workers.“
Archives for February 16, 2023
Ninth Circuit Delivers Employers a Valentine – Blocks California’s Bar to Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements
The Ninth Circuit gave California employers a belated Valentine’s Day present by upholding the District Court’s injunction against enforcement of California Assembly Bill 51 (“AB 51”) because it inhibited arbitration contrary to the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) policy of encouraging arbitration of disputes.
In an attempt to avoid federal preemption, AB 51 provided that employment arbitration agreements would be enforced but it created a criminal offense and civil liability against employers who required existing employees or applicants for employment to consent to arbitration as a condition of employment. Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta relied on Supreme Court precedent that concluded that states’ rules burdening the formation of arbitration agreements, or making arbitration agreements more difficult to enforce, ran afoul of the FAA. Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta concluded that AB 51 discouraged the formation of arbitration agreements because the criminal penalties and civil liability presented a severe burden to the formation of arbitration agreements, all antithetical to the Federal policy favoring arbitration. As a result, it held that AB51 was federally preempted by federal law.
Jackson Lewis Adds Eric S. Clark in Cincinnati
Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. is pleased to announce Eric S. Clark has joined the firm’s Cincinnati office as a principal. Eric joins the firm from Thompson Hine and has more than 20 years of experience in labor and employment law matters.
Can you provide any guidance on keeping our employees and making sure they are simultaneously engaged?
We are having trouble retaining and engaging employees, any guidance on keeping our employees and making sure they are simultaneously engaged?
Let’s face it: Retention and engagement are real challenges right now. And they’re not just challenges holding back business performance; Legal should be concerned as well. Why? Well,
Work Advice: My boss is a back-channeling bully
The best way to defuse behind-the-scenes chatter in the office is to bring it to center stage
Are Big Layoffs In Big Tech A Bad Sign For Well-Being In The Workplace?
Smart business leaders learned a handful of related lessons during the pandemic:
Digital HR tools and career development among the best ways to re-energize workers
Employee engagement, especially among millennials and Gen Z, is at the lowest point it’s been in the last decade, according to a recent poll from Gallup.
Are Gen Z the most stressed generation in the workplace?
Nearly all workers are struggling to cope with economic precarity and professional stress. Yet the youngest workers may be feeling the strain more than anyone.
Worker Burnout Is Even Worse Than at the Peak of the Pandemic
Economic unrest, layoff fears and more stringent return-to-office policies are unsettling white-collar employees globally.
Walmart takes the return to office one step further by asking hundreds of employees to relocate to an entirely new city
Like many other major companies, Walmart is asking its employees to come into the office more often. In an internal memo seen by the Wall Street Journal, Walmart chief technology officer Suresh Kumar said that the retail giant’s technology workers will be asked to work in person at least two days a week.
Is the Tight Labor Market Due to Fewer Workers — or Fewer Hours Worked?
Over the past year, the Federal Reserve has rapidly increased interest rates to bring inflation under control.
Progressives push Biden to choose worker-friendly Labor secretary
Progressives want “middle class Joe Biden” to find a worker-friendly Labor Secretary to replace Marty Walsh — but it may take some elbow grease to get there.
A female Google exec accused of sexually harassing a male coworker hits back in court, saying his time at the company was marked by ‘repeated instances of misconduct toward women’
A female Google executive accused of sexually harassing and drunkenly berating a male coworker has hit back in court, saying his time at the company was “marked by repeated instances of misconduct toward women.”
EEOC Top Attorney Advanced by Panel After Prior Block (Correct)
The Senate’s top labor panel again advanced Karla Gilbride’s nomination to become the top lawyer at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after a Republican senator blocked her confirmation late last year.
Collecting Data on Race and Ethnicity: White House Launches New Plan
The White House recently launched an effort to revise and update the statistical standards for race and ethnicity data collection across federal agencies with a stated goal of better reflecting the growing diversity of people in the United States. On January 26, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)