Jury Awards LAPD Officer $2.8 Million in Retaliation Case

The L.A. Times has reported a stunning $2.8 million jury verdict in favor of former LAPD officer Pedro Torres, who alleged that after he testified on behalf of another officer to support that officer’s claims of harassment in the workplace, the department retaliated against him by taking various adverse employment actions that ultimately concluded in him being unable to continue working as a cop.  The

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California Court Issues Stamp of Approval on Employer Timesheet Rounding Policies

Silva v. See’s Candy Shops, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. D060710 (filed Oct. 29, 2012), marks the first published California Court of Appeal decision approving employers’ use of rounding policies in calculating employees’ total hours worked. In this case, See’s Candy had used a timekeeping software system to record its employees’ hours worked; employees punched in and out to reflect the beginning and end of their shifts, including

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Diana Friedland Featured in the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles November Newsletter

The Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles published today in its November 2012 newsletter an article written by Bernstein & Friedland, P.C.’s Diana Friedland discussing the challenges faced by — and opportunities available to — women attorneys in today’s legal climate.  The article, titled “No Better Time to Be a Woman Attorney — Especially in California,” is available here. ***** Bernstein & Friedland, P.C. is a

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California Appellate Court Reverses Order Denying Class Certification of Newspaper Home Delivery Carriers’ Independent Contractor Misclassification Claims

In Ayala v. Antelope Valley Newspapers, Inc., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. B235484 (Certified for Publication Oct. 17, 2012), the plaintiffs had sought from the trial court an order certifying a class of newspaper home delivery carriers in a lawsuit alleging that the defendant newspaper company illegally misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees in violation of California labor laws.  The defendant hired the plaintiffs

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California Court of Appeal Declines to Order Parties to Arbitration Where Employees’ Dispute Fell Outside Scope of Arbitration Agreement

In yet another appellate decision precluding arbitration of employment claims, Elijahjuan v. Superior Ct., CaseNo. BC441598 (Filed Oct. 17, 2012), the California Court of Appeal reiterated that while “California law, like federal law, favors enforcement of valid arbitration agreements,” the Court will not order parties to arbitration where the underlying dispute is not expressly encompassed by the parties’ Arbitration Agreement.  (Slip Op. at 4.) In this case,

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California Court of Appeal Denies Employer’s Motion to Compel Arbitration Where Employee Did Not Sign Arbitration Agreement (Although She Led Her Employer to Believe She Did)

In Gorlach v. The Sports Club Co., Case No. B233672 (2nd Dist. Cal. Ct. App. Oct. 16, 2012), the California Court of Appeal denied the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration, finding that there was no evidence that the plaintiff agreed to be bound by the company’s arbitration provision. In this case, the plaintiff, Susan Gorlach, had worked for Sports Club as the company’s human resources director. 

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