Insights

On January 21, 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York affirmed summary judgment for an employer whose recording of employee telephone conversations had been challenged as a violation of federal...

On December 20, 1999, a jury in San Francisco awarded $180,000 in compensatory damages and $1,080,000 in punitive damages to a former employee who was terminated by reason of her refusal to sign a non-compete...

The federal Civil Rights Act of 1991 amended Title VII to provide for a right to trial by jury, and to provide for recovery of punitive and compensatory damages. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 also established for a...

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (the “FMLA” or the “Act”), requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for...

JUNE 1998: U.S. SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCES A NEW AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO CLAIMS OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT Many employers are already familiar with the pair of sexual harassment decisions announced by the U.S....

Attorneys for discrimination plaintiffs often perceive a tactical advantage in naming as defendants not only the corporate employer but individual managers or supervisors as well. For example, naming individuals as defendants...

The California Labor Code gives the Labor Commissioner the authority to enforce a number of provisions of state labor and employment law, primarily involving wage and hour questions. Effective January 1, 2000, the Labor Code...

Many employers, seeking to avoid the risks and expense inherent in jury trials of wrongful discharge and discrimination claims, require their employees to enter into agreements under which all employment-related disputes are...

In conducting reductions in force, employers commonly select for termination employees whose salaries appear to be disproportionately higher than those of similarly-situated co-workers. A 1997 California court of appeal...

Effective January 1, 2000, California has restored its daily overtime requirements to their pre-1998 status. Prior to 1998, California law required employers in most industries were required to pay employees at a rate of time...