Labor & Employment Law

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Askins v. CRST Expedited — California Courts Do Not Require Concrete Injury for Standing Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act

automatic / June 4, 2026

The First District Court of Appeal held that California plaintiffs may pursue statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act without proving concrete injury, departing from the Fifth District's Limon decision and reversing a class decertification order.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

People of California v. FMCSA — Ninth Circuit Upholds Federal Preemption of California Meal and Rest Break Rules for Bus Drivers

automatic / June 4, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied California's petition for review of the FMCSA's determination that California's meal and rest break rules are preempted as applied to drivers of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles, extending the preemption previously upheld for property-carrying vehicles.

5th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Cortina v. North American Title Co. — Appellate Court Reverses 19-Year Wage-and-Hour Class Action Over Trial Errors

automatic / May 29, 2026

The Fifth District reverses a 19-year wage-and-hour class action over improper judicial reference and flawed statistical sampling, reinforcing Duran's rigorous requirements for misclassification class trials.

4th District Court of Appeal, Business Transactions, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law

Guild Mortgage v. CrossCountry Mortgage — Court Revives Claims Against Rival That Orchestrated Branch Defection, Rejects CUTSA Displacement

automatic / May 27, 2026

The Fourth District revives claims against a rival mortgage company that allegedly orchestrated a branch defection scheme, holding that all employees owe a duty of loyalty and that CUTSA does not displace interference or computer fraud claims.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Husband v. Target Corporation — Employer Not Charged with Knowledge of Undisclosed Bipolar Disorder Based on Erratic Behavior Alone

automatic / May 21, 2026

Second District holds that an employee's erratic and irrational behavior at work — including statements about killing his stepmother and inanimate objects laughing at him — did not charge employer with knowledge of a mental disability under FEHA, because disability was not the 'only reasonable interpretation' of the behavior.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Dept. of Human Resources v. CCPOA — Court of Appeal Upholds Arbitrator’s Award Reversing Union Rep’s 60-Day Suspension

automatic / May 15, 2026

The Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court and upheld an arbitrator’s award that set aside a correctional officer’s 60-day suspension, holding that the award did not contravene any explicit public policy despite conflicting with the State Personnel Board’s earlier ruling.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Reges v. Cauce — Ninth Circuit Rules University Violated Professor’s First Amendment Rights Over Syllabus Land Acknowledgment Protest

automatic / May 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a public university violated a professor's First Amendment rights by investigating and reprimanding him for inserting a counter-statement to a recommended land acknowledgment in his syllabus.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Gibbs v. County of Humboldt — County Liable for Failing to Enroll Employee in CalPERS and Losing Personnel Records

automatic / May 13, 2026

California appeals court holds that Humboldt County can be sued for failing to enroll a 40-year court reporter in CalPERS and losing her personnel records, establishing that pension enrollment and record-keeping are mandatory duties enforceable under Government Code section 815.6.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Cardenas v. L.A. Unified School District — Appeal of COVID Vaccine Mandate Ruling Forfeited for Failure to Cite Record Evidence

automatic / May 11, 2026

Second District affirms summary judgment for LAUSD in a COVID-19 vaccine mandate challenge after school safety officers forfeited their appeal by failing to cite any record evidence in their opening brief.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Williams v. Legacy Health — Ninth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Against COVID-Vaccine Religious-Exemption Plaintiffs Under Groff Undue-Hardship Test

automatic / May 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit applies the Groff undue-hardship test and affirms summary judgment for a regional healthcare system that denied COVID-19 vaccination religious exemptions to nine clinical employees during the Delta-variant surge.

1st District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Toothman v. Redwood Toxicology Laboratory — 1st District Says Direct Employer Cannot Enforce Arbitration Clause Signed with Temp Agency

automatic / May 5, 2026

First District holds that a direct employer cannot enforce an arbitration agreement the worker originally signed with a temporary staffing agency, where the worker's claims arose entirely from the direct-employment period that started after the temp placement ended.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Vela v. Harbor Rail Services — Court of Appeal Affirms Arbitration of Railcar Repairman’s Wage Claims, Including Class Waiver

automatic / May 1, 2026

California Court of Appeal holds that a railcar repairman doing stationary maintenance work in a Wilmington rail yard is not a 'transportation worker' exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, so his class action waiver is enforceable.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Stoker v. Blue Origin — Blue Origin Arbitration Agreement Substantively and Procedurally Unconscionable; Severance Not Appropriate

automatic / April 24, 2026

Second District affirms denial of Blue Origin's motion to compel arbitration of former employee's FEHA sexual harassment and other claims, holding that the arbitration agreement is both substantively and procedurally unconscionable due to lack of mutuality and one-sided carve-outs, and that severance is not appropriate.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Santana v. Studebaker Health Care Center — Multiple Arbitration Documents With Minor Ambiguities Form Enforceable Agreement

automatic / April 22, 2026

Second District reverses denial of motion to compel arbitration in nursing facility wage and hour class action, holding that three arbitration-related onboarding documents must be construed together and form an enforceable agreement despite minor ambiguities and the typical procedural unconscionability of an adhesion contract.

5th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Martinez v. Sierra Lifestar — Defenses Common to All Class Members Cannot Defeat Typicality of Class Representative’s Claim

automatic / April 21, 2026

Fifth District reverses denial of class certification in wage and hour case challenging exclusion of nondiscretionary bonuses from the regular rate of pay, holding that defenses common to all class members do not defeat typicality of the class representative's claim.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Gessele v. Jack in the Box — Ninth Circuit reverses key wage-and-hour rulings, restoring class claims for shortened meal breaks and shoe-cost deductions under Oregon law

automatic / April 20, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reverses key rulings in a long-running Jack in the Box wage-and-hour class action, restoring class claims for shortened meal breaks under Oregon law and for non-slip shoe deductions, and ordering a trial on whether overdeductions for the Oregon Workers' Benefit Fund were willful.

6th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Paknad v. Superior Court — Employer’s Avoidable Consequences Defense Waives Work Product Protection for Investigator’s Factual Findings

automatic / April 17, 2026

Sixth District grants second writ of mandate, holding that an employer that raised the avoidable consequences defense waived work product protection over the investigator's factual findings, and that allowing redactions of all factual findings exceeded the scope of any remaining work product protection.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

Gonzales v. Battelle Energy Alliance — Ninth Circuit holds that revoking a Security Police Officer’s fitness-for-duty certification is reviewable under the ADA, distinguishing it from a national-security clearance

automatic / April 16, 2026

The Ninth Circuit holds that a federal contractor's revocation of a Security Police Officer's Part 1046 fitness-for-duty certification is reviewable under the ADA and is not the kind of national-security clearance decision insulated from review under Department of Navy v. Egan.

4th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Walton v. Victor Valley Community College District — Nursing Student May Pursue FEHA, Education Code, and Government Claims Against District for Faculty Sexual Harassment

automatic / April 15, 2026

Fourth District reverses summary judgment for community college district on nursing student's sexual harassment claims, holding that the student has standing under FEHA, that her detailed pre-litigation letter substantially complied with the Government Claims Act, and that triable issues exist on her Education Code section 66270 deliberate indifference claim.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

L.A. County Professional Peace Officers Assn. v. County of L.A. — Union Did Not Clearly and Unmistakably Waive Right to Bargain Over Outsourcing Decision

automatic / April 10, 2026

Second District holds that a public employee union did not clearly and unmistakably waive its right to bargain over an outsourcing decision through an MOU clause referring to "reorganization," reversing dismissal of an unfair practice charge against Los Angeles County.

4th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

The Merchant of Tennis v. Superior Court — Class Action Curative Notice Must Warn of Potential Repayment of Rescinded Settlement Funds

automatic / April 2, 2026

Fourth District holds that a curative notice in a wage and hour class action must warn employees who rescind individual settlement agreements that they may be required to repay the settlement consideration if the employer prevails, applying California Civil Code rescission statutes rather than federal class action precedents.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Pechkis v. Trustees of California State University — Anti-SLAPP fails where retaliation claims do not arise exclusively from protected investigatory activity

automatic / March 24, 2026

Third District affirms denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a CSU professor retaliation case, holding that claims based 'in part' on communications with another university do not arise from protected activity when other unprotected employment decisions also support the claim.

4th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Guardian Storage Centers v. Simpson — State Fund rule applies when attorney receives privileged emails that ex-employee improperly took from former employer

automatic / March 24, 2026

Fourth District holds that the State Fund rule applies when a law firm receives privileged emails that a former executive improperly took from the company, and reverses the trial court's denial of disqualification motions.

5th District Court of Appeal, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Ayala-Ventura v. Superior Court — Janitorial worker’s arbitration agreement enforced; trial courts may distinguish, but should explain departures from binding precedent

automatic / March 17, 2026

Fifth District enforces a janitorial worker's mutual arbitration agreement and explains how trial courts should distinguish, but document their departures from, binding California Court of Appeal precedent like Cook v. USC.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Monroe v. CalPERS — Service retirement while under investigation for misconduct cuts off the right to apply for disability retirement

automatic / March 12, 2026

Second District holds that a parole agent who service retired while under misconduct investigation cannot pursue disability retirement because his departure under unfavorable circumstances foreclosed the possibility of reinstatement.