News & Insights

Generally speaking, employee non-compete agreements are unenforceable in California. But there are several exceptions to this rule; including the seller of a business’s goodwill or a membership interest in an LLC, and where the non-compete is necessary to protect an employer’s trade secret information. In our digital age, it is all too important for a…

In California, where it seems that we are always on the road, there has been an increase in class action litigation against employers for the alleged failure to reimburse employees for business expenses, particularly mileage reimbursement. For example, in a recent class action lawsuit involving prominent retailers, employees alleged that they were not reimbursed for…

In California, there has been a recent wave of cases brought by employee plaintiffs who claim their employers have underpaid wages and cheated them out of benefits. California state laws, in addition to federal laws, play a role in the legal standards an employer must follow when it comes to overtime and related entitlements. Read…

In a recent decision involving a Northern California hospital (Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals), the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a physician has the right to bring whistleblower lawsuits to challenge adverse peer reviews. In a world of online review sites and offline peer review team building exercises, the decision is likely to…

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill that will make it more and more challenging for California employers to discriminate against women because of their gender when it comes to compensation. The California Fair Pay Act is said to be the nation’s most aggressive equal pay law and becomes effective January 1,…

Sex and gender discrimination in the California workplace is an increasingly hot topic as more women and openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals enter the workforce. While state and federal laws require that these employees are given equal access and protections, they often do not receive these mandated benefits and instead are discriminated against…

Employment discrimination is a hot topic these days and unfortunately, not for good reasons — Employment discrimination cases are on the rise in California. Employment discrimination is illegal under state and federal law. This means that California employers generally cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of race, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age…

Various state and federal laws govern the amount of wages to which an Orange County employee is entitled. A recent case involving a collective bargaining agreement (Vranish v. Exxon Mobil Corp.) illustrates the fact that unionized California employees may be subject to different legal requirements than employees not represented by a union or labor group…

Many Orange County employers are unclear as to the type and scope of legal protections available to employees with a recognized disability. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), employees are offered various types of safeguards, including the right to not be discriminated against because of his or her disability, and can seek “reasonable accommodations,”…

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on disability in a variety of contexts. Although the ADA offers wide-reaching protection, legal remedies for individuals with disabilities are not necessarily automatic. As a recent federal case illustrates, individuals with disabilities must take certain necessary steps prior…