Labor & Employment Law

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

Sorokunov v. NetApp, Inc. — Arbitrator’s findings on individual wage claims preclude PAGA standing in court

automatic / March 3, 2026

First District holds that an arbitrator's merits-based finding that an employee did not suffer Labor Code violations preclusively destroys the same employee's PAGA standing in the companion court action.

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

Ehrenkranz v. San Francisco Zen Center — Ministerial exception requires actual ecclesiastical concern; Labor Code bond requirement applies only to employer entities

automatic / March 2, 2026

First District holds the First Amendment ministerial exception does not categorically bar a Zen Center worker's wage-and-hour claims, but Labor Code section 98.2's appeal bond is required only of the employing entity, not individuals also liable under section 558.1.

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

Bishop v. SDCERA — Public Employee’s Pension Forfeiture Survives Reduction of Felony Conviction to Misdemeanor

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District holds a public employee 'convicted' of a job-related felony — by guilty plea — forfeits a portion of his pension benefits under Government Code section 7522.74, and that forfeiture is not undone when the felony is later reduced to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17(b).

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

Zenith Insurance Co. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board — WCAB Lacked Jurisdiction to Grant Reconsideration After 60-Day Statutory Deadline

automatic / February 10, 2026

Sixth District reverses a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board reconsideration order, holding the Board exceeded its jurisdiction by granting reconsideration after the former section 5909 60-day deadline ran and that the narrow grounds for equitable tolling were not satisfied.

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

Parsonage v. Wal-Mart Associates — ICRAA $10,000 Statutory Damages Available Without Proof of Concrete Injury in Employment Background-Check Cases

automatic / February 4, 2026

Fourth District reverses summary judgment for Wal-Mart, holding California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act allows employees to recover the $10,000 statutory damages award for ICRAA disclosure violations without proving any concrete injury such as an adverse employment decision.

California Supreme Court, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Fuentes v. Empire Nissan — Tiny, Unreadable Contract Print Goes to Procedural, Not Substantive, Unconscionability — but Courts Must Scrutinize Illegible Terms Closely

automatic / February 2, 2026

The California Supreme Court clarifies that an unreadably small or blurry contract goes to procedural unconscionability, not substantive unconscionability — but illegibility triggers heightened scrutiny of the underlying terms for unfairness.

Appellate Division (Superior Court), Labor & Employment Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

De Paolo v. Rosales — Tenant Protection Act’s Just-Cause Provisions Do Not Apply When Resident Manager’s Tenancy Ends With Termination of Employment

automatic / January 27, 2026

Los Angeles Appellate Division affirms an unlawful-detainer judgment against a resident manager whose tenancy was tied to her employment, holding the Tenant Protection Act's 60-day notice and just-cause requirements do not apply where housing was provided as employment compensation under a written agreement.

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

Trustees of CSU v. Public Employment Relations Board — CSU Must Bargain Over Effects of Student Vaccination Policy on Faculty, but Not Yet Found in Violation

automatic / January 26, 2026

Second District holds the California State University has a duty under HEERA to bargain over reasonably foreseeable effects of its 2023 student-vaccine policy on faculty health, but vacates PERB's violation finding because there was no substantial evidence CSU had implemented the policy or definitively refused to bargain when the unfair-practice charge was filed.

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

Carroll v. City and County of San Francisco — Disability-Pension ‘Formula 2’ Does Not Discriminate Against Late-Hire Employees Under FEHA

automatic / January 14, 2026

First District affirms judgment for the City and County of San Francisco in a FEHA age-discrimination challenge to the City's two-formula disability-retirement scheme, finding the City's pension structure did not violate FEHA.

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

The Merchant of Tennis, Inc. v. Superior Court — Curative Notice to Class Members Who Revoke Settlements Must Reflect California Rescission Statutes

automatic / January 14, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that a curative class-action notice informing putative class members they may revoke individual settlement agreements must also tell them California rescission statutes require return of the settlement payment.

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

Tuufuli v. West Coast Dental Administrative Services — Federal Arbitration Act Governs When the Parties Said It Does

automatic / January 13, 2026

Second District affirms an order compelling arbitration of an employee's individual wage claims and dismissing her class claims, holding the parties' arbitration agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act because they expressly said so.

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

Spilman v. The Salvation Army — Trial Court Used Wrong Test to Decide Whether Rehab Program Participants Were Volunteers or Employees

automatic / January 6, 2026

First District reverses summary judgment for the Salvation Army in a wage suit by adult-rehabilitation 'work therapy' participants, holding that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard for distinguishing a volunteer from an employee under California wage law.

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

Sierra Pacific Industries Wage and Hour Cases — Defendant Waived Right to Compel Arbitration by Litigating for Years and Hiding Agreements

automatic / January 6, 2026

Third District affirms denial of Sierra Pacific's motion to compel arbitration in coordinated wage-and-hour class actions, finding the company waived arbitration rights by litigating for years and refusing to produce signed arbitration agreements until after class certification.