Articles

The California Supreme Court has confirmed that, in general, a city does not have to negotiate with a labor union over the decision to lay off employees. However, the court also made clear that the city does have to negotiate over the impacts of its decision.

Title VII rules prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees are pretty clear. Retaliation against a person to asserts the right to be free of employment discrimination is a major offense.

We’ve all been there.  Waiting in line to pay and get out of the store, sliding our credit card through a machine, when a clerk at the cash registers asks us for our home zip code.  What if we refuse?Well, we have a right to refuse.

If parties agree to refer their dispute to a referee rather than go to court, must the judiciary comply with their agreement?  Or does the court have discretion to reject the reference, in effect requiring the parties to litigate despite their agreement to the contrary?The California Supreme Co...

In residential construction disputes, the legislature has mandated that the parties utilize an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure that, hopefully, will cut down on litigation.

An employee who sues to recover unpaid overtime is entitled to recover attorney’s fees as well. Such is the rule set forth in section 1194 of the California Labor Code.

Two cases decided by the court of appeal highlight the dilemma facing many local school districts when the state legislature mandates that they perform additional services.

In a key ruling that will impact employee organizations as they seek to recruit non-member employees within represented bargaining units, the California Supreme Court of appeal has ruled that non-members have a privacy right in thier personal contact information, but that when a labor union seeks ac...

The California Supreme Court has ruled that a school district may face liability if it negligently hired a known child abuser and then allowed the person to closely interact with students as a counselor without adequate supervision.The case is C.A. (a minor) v. William S.

Whenever you hire a contractor to work on your property, you should make sure he or she (or their firm) is duly licensed.  Doing work without a license can have major consequences -- for both sides.