Employment & Labor Updates from Cooley LLPhttp://www.cooley.comLos Angeles, Calif. – May 9, 2013 – Cooley LLP announced today that it represented DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. in the negotiations that culminated in its agreement to buy AwesomenessTV, a multi-channel YouTube subscription for teens. &nbsp;DreamWorks Animation will pay $33 million upfront, and up...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=67987Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTSan Francisco, Calif. – April 30, 2013 – Cooley LLP announced today that it advised Jawbone, a leader and innovator in health and lifestyle products and services, on its recent agreement to acquire Body Media. The acquisition will allow Jawbone to further its leadership and accelerate its innovation...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=67960Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMTEmployment &amp; Labor partner Elizabeth Lewis and associate Andrew Turnbull were quoted by The Washington Post discussing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs's decision to rescind two executive orders from 2006 that addressed pay discrimination and the impact this will have on compan...http://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=67822Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMTEmployers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees, to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for the states and localities that exceed federal levels for the most common job categories. ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=67337Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMTPalo Alto, Calif. – December 3, 2012 – Cooley LLP announced today that it has elected six attorneys to join the firm's partnership, effective January 1, 2013.&nbsp; "We are extremely proud to welcome these accomplished attorneys into the partnership," said Joe Conroy, Cooley's CEO. "Individually and...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=67283Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill that amends California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to explicitly protect applicants and employees from discrimination based on religious dress and grooming practices. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2013. Existing l...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=67231Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMTPalo Alto, Calif. – October 29, 2012 – Cooley LLP announced today that it is advising OPNET Technologies, Inc. in its pending acquisition by Riverbed Technology. Riverbed entered a definitive agreement to acquire OPNET for $43 per share in cash and stock, which represents an equity value of approxim...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=67150Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMTOn September 27, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill which prohibits employers from requiring that employees or job applicants disclose information related to their personal social media accounts, such as Facebook. The bill makes it unlawful for employers to request that emp...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=67052Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT Changes to the regulations implementing the whistleblower provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act ("STAA") went into effect July 27, 2012. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") administers the whistleblower provision of the STAA, along with whistleblower provisio...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66779Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In a prior Alert dated August 13, 2010, we reported that Massachusetts had overhauled its Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system. Additional provisions of the law took effect in May 2012 and the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) recently published...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66720Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT On July 10, 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") issued a final rule implementing the whistleblower provisions of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act ("CPSIA"). Those provisions provide employees with protections against retaliation by employer manufacturers, pr...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66723Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT In Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. the Supreme Court handed employers—and pharmaceutical manufacturers in particular—a victory holding that (1) pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) properly fall under the FLSA's "outside sales" exemption, and (2) the Department of Labor had essential...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66648Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT On June 4, 2012, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, issued an important pro-employer decision that upholds the use of class and representative action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. In Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC ("Iskanian"), the Court of Appeal hel...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66601Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMTWith millions of service members home from Iraq and Afghanistan and 1 million still yet to return, employers should consider whether their treatment of disabled and returning veterans comports with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment an...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66557Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "EEOC") issued Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the "Guidance"). The Guidance is the EEOC's first formal policy...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66527Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT In a prior Alert dated December 28, 2011, we reported that the National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB" or the "Board") had adopted a controversial new rule amending its election case procedures. The new rule took effect on April 30, 2012. The changes encompassed by the rule have been of signific...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66507Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT Effective January 1, 2012, a new law in California has changed the requirements for the background check disclosure that employers must provide in order to conduct background investigations in California. Employers based outside of California may be governed by this requirement if they obtain backg...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66494Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 GMTWe reported in our December 28, 2011 Alert that the NLRB had agreed to postpone the effective date of its final rule requiring employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act to April 30, 2012. The postponement had been at the request...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66415Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT As reported in prior Alerts, the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011 (AB 469) ("WTPA") took effect on January 1, 2012. This new law requires employers to provide all newly hired non-exempt California employees with a written notice at the time of hire that contains certain specified wage-related info...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66411Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT On April 12, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark decision, Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012), holding that an employer's duty with respect to providing employee meal periods is only to relieve employees of all duty, relinquish control over their activities, and perm...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66355Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT Two recent New York federal district court decisions illustrate the ongoing debate regarding the enforceability of class action waivers in the employment context following AT&amp;T Mobility v. Concepcion and D.R. Horton and Michael Cuda. In Sutherland v. Ernst &amp; Young, 2012 WL 130420 (S.D.N.Y. ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66104Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT On January 3, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB" or the "Board") issued its decision in D.R. Horton and Michael Cuda, finding that notwithstanding the Federal Arbitration Act (the "FAA") and AT&amp;T Mobility v. Concepcion (the United States Supreme Court's April&nbsp;27, 2011 opi...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=66030Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMTAs we reported in our January 4, 2012 Alert, the California Labor Commissioner recently published a template form to comply with the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011 ("WTPA") (AB 469). In connection with the publication of the template, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ("DLSE...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65987Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT As we reported in our October 24, 2011 Alert, on October 9, 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011 (AB 469). This law adds a new section to the California Labor Code (Section 2810.5) that requires employers to provide all newly hired non-exempt C...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65978Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMTFrederick Baron, partner and chair of Cooley's Employment&nbsp;and Labor&nbsp;practice group, was quoted about managing high-level misconduct investigations in an article on lessons in the Penn State Scandal – prompt, fair, rigorous, and independent investigation minimizes institutional legal exposu...http://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=66018Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT After months of deliberation and comment, the National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB" or the "Board") has adopted a final rule amending its election case procedures. The amendments were drawn from a more comprehensive (and controversial) proposal put forward by the NLRB in June. The new rule wil...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65970Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMTEmployers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees, to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for the states and localities that exceed federal levels for the most common job categories.The following minimu...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65957Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT On October 9, 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a series of bills impacting the landscape of California employment law. Employers will want to take note of these new laws, which may require revision of existing employment policies and practices. Except where indicated, the new l...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65692Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT In our March 4, 2011 Alert we described the proposed rule of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concerning the posting of a workplace notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB has now issued its final rule regarding this notice. The re...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65605Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT On August 29, 2011, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("WHD") issued a final rule to implement President Obama's Executive Order 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts (the "Executive Order"). The Executive Order requires federal contractors and subcontra...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65474Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMTOn July 13, 2011, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed legislation that prohibits employers from using credit reports to make selection and employment-related decisions. The law will become effective on October 1, 2011, and it will cover all employers in Connecticut that have at least one emplo...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65378Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMTOn April 13, 2011, the Obama administration released a draft Executive Order called "Disclosure of Political Spending by Government Contractors" ("Draft Order") that contemplates requiring federal contractors to disclose political contributions when bidding on federal contracts. As currently drafted...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65291Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT On June 30, 2011, the California Supreme Court in Sullivan v. Oracle Corp. decided that California's overtime law covers certain overtime worked in California by nonresident employees of California-based employers. The Sullivan v. Oracle Corp. decision Under California law, non-exempt employees ge...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65278Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMTOn June 20, 2011, the United States Supreme Court struck down what is believed to be the largest employment class action ever certified. The decision should significantly affect plaintiffs' ability to bring large, nationwide class action claims in federal court. This is an important victory for empl...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65203Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT As social networking continues to revolutionize the way we connect and communicate, the law is still evolving in the area of employer regulation of employee use of social media. A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) settlement with American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. (AMR) resol...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65090Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT On April 26, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") published proposed regulations that would impose additional affirmative action obligations on federal government contractors under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=65006Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT California courts will no longer enforce arbitration agreements to the extent that they require employees to waive the option of an administrative hearing (known as a "Berman" hearing) before the California Labor Commissioner. In an important opinion on February 24, 2011, the California Supreme Cou...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64986Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTOn March 24, 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its much anticipated Final Rule ("Final Regulations") implementing the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADAAA"). The Final Regulations will be published in the Federal Register on March&nbsp;25, 2011.Backg...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64872Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT On December 22, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB"), an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees' rights to organize and to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices, published a proposed rule which, if enacted, would require every employer subject to th...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64794Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe anti-retaliation provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") prohibits an employer from discriminating against any of its employees for engaging in protected conduct. In Thompson v. North American Stainless, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held on January 24,...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64715Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Since Director Patricia Shiu took the helm at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP"), the agency has made a significant shift from the enforcement strategies adopted during the Bush Administration. The past six months have been particularly active as the OFCCP has announced se...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64650Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT California employers may be subject to substantial "waiting-time" penalties for failing to pay an employee his or her final wages immediately upon separation. In an important opinion on November 18, 2010, the California Supreme Court held in Pineda v. Bank of America, N.A., that a single three-year...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64574Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMTThe Supreme Court heard oral argument on December 8, 2010 in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, Docket No. 09-115, to determine if the Legal Arizona Workers Act ("LAWA") is preempted by federal law. Passed in 2007, LAWA is a controversial law that requires mandatory use of E-Verify by all employers in ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64567Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMTEmployers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for some states and localities, that apply to the most common job categories. The following minimum compensation ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64541Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMTOn November 2, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") announced that its Hartford Regional Office had filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. ("AMR"). The complaint alleges that AMR violated Section 7 of the NLRA by terminating an employee for posting nega...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64499Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT The California Supreme Court recently issued a unanimous decision that could make it more difficult for employers to win summary judgment in certain discrimination cases involving potentially discriminatory comments. In Reid v. Google, Inc., the Court declined to adopt the "stray remarks doctrine,"...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64254Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT On August 6, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed legislation that will overhaul the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system. This new law will have important implications for Massachusetts employers and out-of-state employers seeking to hire Massachusetts employees. Under ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64133Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMTIn a recent decision, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided that outside pharmaceutical sales representatives were nonexempt employees, and therefore were entitled to overtime and subject to other nonexempt requirements. The court found that: (a) these sales representatives did not qua...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64109Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMTOn July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") which was designed to reform the U.S. financial regulatory system in response to the recent financial crisis. To accomplish this goal, the Act creates and expands pr...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64093Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT The growing patchwork of state E-Verify legislation continues to spread across the country. Several new state laws are poised to take effect this month. E-Verify is an Internet-based system run by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS")...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64061Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMTIn the case of City of Ontario California v. Quon, 560 U.S. ___ (2010), the Supreme Court held that a public employer's review of an employee's text messages sent via an employer-provided pager did not violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures under the circums...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=64039Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMTPalo Alto, Calif. – June 29, 2010 – Cooley LLP announced that the 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business recognizes 53 Cooley attorneys as leaders in their respective fields, with 15 attorneys receiving a #1 ranking. Six Cooley practices received a #1 ranking and 22 of ...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=63998Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMTBoston – June 21, 2010 – Cooley LLP announced today that Michael N. Sheetz has joined the firm as a partner in its litigation department.&nbsp; He will be resident in Boston.&nbsp; Sheetz is a seasoned commercial litigator specializing in employment law, as well as sports and entertainment industry-...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=63981Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT Federal Government Contractors are required to post a new poster notifying employees that the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"): guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers; guarantees the right of employees to engage in other protected concer...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63918Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 GMTIntroduction On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, H.R. 3590, and on March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the Reconciliation Act of 2010, H.R. 4872 (collectively the "Healthcare Reform Law"). Section 4207 of the Healthcare Reform Law ("Section 42...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63882Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT On April 26, 2010, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (the "Ninth Circuit") affirmed in part, and remanded in part, the decision of the district court for the Northern District of California (the "District Court") to certify a class of over one million female Wal-Mart employees pursuant to Fed...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63863Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT In a recent decision, the California Court of Appeal expanded the potential scope of employer liability for vehicle accidents caused by employees. As a result, employers now need to be concerned that they might be liable for the negligent driving of commuting employees who have used their personal ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63845Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT On April 26, 2010, the California Supreme Court ruled that an arbitration award may be vacated when the arbitrator makes a clear error of law which deprives an individual of a hearing on the merits of an unwaivable statutory employment claim. The Supreme Court separately held that arbitration agree...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63836Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTScenario:&nbsp; Jane Smith is a former sales manager of Widget, Inc., which sells data storage devices.&nbsp; Widget terminated Jane's employment on February 1, 2010.&nbsp; Three weeks later, Widget closed a $5 million sale to BigBuy, Inc., Jane's biggest account.&nbsp; BigBuy signed a preliminary p...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=63820Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMTThe California Supreme Court ruled recently that a forfeiture provision in a key employee stock purchase plan did not violate the California Labor Code. The Court upheld the forfeiture of an employee's unvested restricted stock, and the cash compensation he used to purchase the stock, under the term...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63451Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMTEmployers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for some states and localities, that apply to the most common job categories. The following minimum compensation ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63413Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMTWashington, DC and Reston, VA – December 3, 2009 – Three Cooley Godward Kronish lawyers were recognized in The Washingtonian magazine's listing of the leading lawyers in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. Connie Bertram, a partner in the employment and labor practice, Antonio Calabrese, a part...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=63383Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT Introduction The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has revised its "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law" poster. The new poster reflects the requirements of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act ("GINA"), which take effect on November 21, 2009, and prohibit employers...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63316Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMTOctober 28, 2009&nbsp;–&nbsp;Law &amp; Politics magazine recognized 97 Cooley Godward Kronish attorneys in its 2009 Super Lawyers publications. Only five percent of the lawyers in the each state or region are honored by Super Lawyers. Most notable among the distinctions was the naming of Alan Lev...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=63267Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMTOn August 19, 2009, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ("DLSE") issued an important Opinion Letter for California employers (the "8/19/09 OL"), finding that an employer's temporary schedule and salary reductions for exempt employees remains consistent with the salary basis test w...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=63203Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMTWashington, DC and Reston, VA.&nbsp; – September 21, 2009 – Two Cooley Godward Kronish attorneys won top honors in the Washington Business Journal's annual "Top Washington Lawyers" competition. The competition, which garnered more than 300 nominations, honors one attorney in each of 16 separate prac...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=63159Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMTWashington, D.C. – August 13, 2009&nbsp;– Cooley Godward Kronish is pleased to announce that four attorneys from its Washington, DC and Reston, Va. offices were named finalists for the Washington Business Journal's sixth annual Top Washington Lawyer awards.&nbsp; Cooley has the&nbsp; second highest ...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=62998Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMTIn a key victory for employers, the United States Supreme Court held on June 18, 2009, that a plaintiff bringing an Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") disparate treatment claim must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the "but-for" cause of the challenged adverse emplo...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=62733Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMTPalo Alto, Calif. – June&nbsp;22, 2009&nbsp; – Cooley Godward Kronish LLP is pleased to announce that the seventh annual Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business honors 43 of the Firm's attorneys as leaders in their respective fields, with 18 categories featuring a Cooley partner as top-...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=62673Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMTReacting to the Wall Street scandals and a recent Supreme Court decision, Congress expanded the tools available to the federal government to combat financial fraud by contractors and fund recipients with the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 ("FERA"). Signed into law on May 20, 2009, FERA c...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=62356Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMTImportant legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act ("EFCA") remains pending before the United States Congress. If enacted into law, EFCA would significantly amend the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"). EFCA would substantially ease the burden on unions to organize employer workforces. I...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=62241Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 GMTThe World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded the level of threat posed by the H1N1 virus ("swine flu") to Level 5, which is the second-highest level of alert. Employers should, to the extent they have not already done so, plan and prepare for possible disruptions to their business as a result of...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=59022Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 GMTOn March 24, 2009, the Department of Labor issued a final rule that rescinds regulations requiring federal contractors to place a notice to employees informing them that they have a right not to join or maintain union membership, and employees are entitled to appropriate reduction in dues for activi...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58999Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMTOn January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (the “Act”) into law. The Act extends the statute of limitations applicable to claims of compensation discrimination brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 (“Title VII”), the Age Discrimination in ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58944Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMTEmployers should review compensation rates for both exempt and nonexempt employees to ensure compliance with current legal thresholds. Set forth below are rates at the federal level, and for some states and localities, that apply to the most common job categories.The following minimum compensation r...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58921Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <w:LsdExcepthttp://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=63817Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn order to qualify for the California Computer Software Employees overtime exemption, an employee must meet the exemption’s duties and compensation tests. The compensation test has been difficult on employers because it has been based on a sliding scale depending on how many actual hours the employ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58836Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMTPartner Rich Frank discussed several employment cases being considered by the California Supreme Court in the Daily Journal's August 27, 2008 article, "Employment Cases Split California High Court: Workplace Law Proves Fractious for Typically Unanimous Group of Justices." To view article. (subscript...http://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=63819Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn its long-awaited decision in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, the California Supreme Court ruled on August 7, 2008 that California employers cannot enforce agreements limiting competition by former employees, except within very narrow statutory exceptions. The Court established this bright-line rule b...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58795Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMTPartner Rich Frank comments on the California Supreme Court ruling in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen, which held that a state statute gives California workers freedom to work for direct competitors of their former employees, hence voiding many non-compete agreements. The article, "Calif. high court kick...http://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=63829Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMTPartner Rich Frank discussed the landmark decision by the California Supreme Court stopping California companies from enforcing almost all non-competition agreements with employees. To view article. http://www.cooley.com/showinthenews.aspx?Show=63818Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia employers have in the last few years been subject to a slew of class action cases concerning whether they must force employees to take meal periods and rest breaks. In an important opinion on July 22, 2008, the California Court of Appeal held in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58779Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn Reynolds v. Bement (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1075, the California Supreme Court held that individual officers, directors and shareholders of a corporation have no personal liability to the corporation’s employees for unpaid overtime. Following Reynolds, the California Court of Appeal recently held in Bra...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58761Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMTPalo Alto, Calif. -- June&nbsp;17, 2008 -- Cooley Godward Kronish LLP is pleased to announce that the sixth annual Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business honors 44 of the Firm's attorneys as leaders in their respective fields, with 16 categories featuring a Cooley partner as top-ranked...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=58738Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Unites States Supreme Court has recently ruled in separate decisions that two federal statutes prohibiting discrimination also prohibit retaliation, even though the statutes do not explicitly address retaliation.CBOCS West, Inc. v. HumphriesHumphries, a former assistant manager of a Cracker Barr...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58737Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMTCooley Godward Kronish represented Battery Ventures in this transaction. Team members included Partners&nbsp;Alfred Browne, Mark Hrenya, Dan Meehan&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dave Walsh and Associates&nbsp;Mark Wong&nbsp;and&nbsp; Peyton Worley. ST. PAUL, Minn. – May 9, 2008 – 3M announced today it has entered ...http://www.cooley.com/showpressrelease.aspx?Show=58766Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia Supreme Court Rejects Individual Liability for Supervisors in FEHA Retaliation ClaimsA recent ruling by the California Supreme Court in Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership et al (March 3, 2008) resolved an important question regarding the role of a supervisor in an employee’s r...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58692Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMTA recent ruling by the California Supreme Court in Ross v. RagingWire Telecommunications, Inc. makes clear that California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996, a passed voter initiative which provides a person using marijuana for medicinal purposes with a defense to certain state criminal charges, does ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58666Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMTCooley attorneys&nbsp;Amy Hartman&nbsp;and&nbsp;Orion Armon&nbsp;presented&nbsp;at the CSIA DEMOgala on October 11, 2007,&nbsp;on best practices for avoiding litigation arising from the unauthorized disclosure of information. VIEW THE PRESENTATIONhttp://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=58646Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMTA new ruling by the California Supreme Court has increased the cost to employers of failing to provide non-exempt employees with routine meal and rest breaks as required by statute. California Labor Code section 226.7 provides that if an employer fails to provide its non-exempt employees with meal p...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58484Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMTOn January 12, 2006, the Maryland General Assembly passed the "Fair Share Health Fund Act" (Act or Fair Share Act). This legislation, which was scheduled to take effect January 1, 2007, essentially sought to require one of the state's largest employers, the retail gian Wal-Mart, to pay a greater per...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=58523Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMTIntroduction On November 7, 2006 more than 61% of San Francisco voters passed Proposition F, mandating extraordinary paid sick leave entitlements for employees working in San Francisco. In fact, with passage of the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, San Francisco became the first city in the state to req...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=58366Tue, 21 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMTABSTRACT As the most far-reaching amendments to the Bankruptcy Code since 1978 came into effect, lawyers speculated anxiously as to how courts would implement new and tougher standards for approval of executive compensation regimes for companies in Chapter 11. After nearly six months of judicial ac...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=58459Fri, 28 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMTIn a January 2005 survey on office romance, 58% of employees stated they had been involved in an office romance. Of those surveyed, 26% of the employees stated they were able to hide their romances from their company; 14% admitted to dating a boss or supervisor, and 19% admitted to dating a subordin...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57846Wed, 13 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMTOn December 10, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004, S. 2486 (the “VBIA”).  This Act modifies and extends education, housing, employment and other benefits for United States veterans.  Of import to employers, the VBIA contains two provisions that affect...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57819Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:00:00 GMTThe Bad Old DaysOn November 2, 2004, California voters approved major revisions to California Business and Professions Code ¤ 17200, the state's notorious Unfair Competition Law ("UCL"). Prior to these changes, the UCL was an "only in California" statute that allowed any state resident to sue a comp...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57765Wed, 17 Nov 2004 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia has often led the charge when it comes to passing laws that address the responsibilities which employers have to their workers. That trend continues with the enactment on September 29, 2004 of Assembly Bill 1825 ("AB 1825"), which mandates new sexual harassment training requirements for C...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57757Thu, 21 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMTOn April 23, 2004, the United States Department of Labor ("DOL") published its long awaited final regulations concerning how employers determine who is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). This is the first significant change to the regulat...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57662Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:00:00 GMTAs a result of military action in Iraq and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the U.S. Department of State has issued recent travel advisories warning of the increased threat of anti-American violence and recommending travel restrictions in certain parts of Asia. At the same tim...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57519Fri, 04 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMTLast month we presented for our clients a series of HR Network Breakfast Briefings on protecting employee medical information. This Alert is intended to assist our clients in complying with the so-called "Privacy Rule" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA").I...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57610Tue, 11 Mar 2003 00:00:00 GMTIn the closely watched case of Leonard v. McMorris, the Colorado Supreme Court just held that corporate officers are not personally liable for a corporation’s unpaid wages to its employees under the Colorado Wage Claim Act. Because wage act claims against corporate officers have become a favorite of...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57447Tue, 11 Feb 2003 00:00:00 GMTIntroductionThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, H.R. Rep. No. 107-610 (2002)) was signed into law by President Bush on July 30, 2002. Created in part as a reaction to the corporate abuses uncovered at Enron, and aimed at restoring investor trust and confidence in the public m...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57372Fri, 11 Oct 2002 00:00:00 GMTThis Alert discusses two significant developments in the area of employer-mandated arbitration agreements.Luce, Forward DecisionWhile most courts have enforced employer-mandated arbitration agreements, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which decides issues of federal law for many western stat...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57464Fri, 13 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMTThe potential for individual liability for officers and directors arises as more venture-backed companies become distressed and face the prospect of insolvency. The ability of officers and directors to analyze and resolve competing responsibilities to company shareholders and creditors is further co...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57465Tue, 22 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMTThe California Legislature passed several employment-related bills this year that will go into effect January 1, 2002. We summarize here the employment laws most likely to affect California employers.WAGE AND HOUR LAWThe minimum wage for hourly, non-exempt workers in California will be increased to ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57475Fri, 21 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMTThings can get ugly between sister courts in the noncompete area. The issue: California Business & Professions Code section 16600 ("Section 16600"), which generally prohibits noncompetition agreements as against public policy, does not get the same respect from out of state courts that it does here ...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57476Fri, 14 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMTIn response to the tragic events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, President Bush ordered that up to 50,000 Reservists could be called to active duty to assist with port operations, medical, engineering and civil support as well as homeland defense. Under Executive Order 13223, issued Septem...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57477Tue, 25 Sep 2001 00:00:00 GMTLegislation Expands Definition of “Disabled” Under California Law There is a new California law that has energized plaintiff-side employment attorneys, who predict the law will make it more likely that employee disability discrimination claims will survive summary judgment motions filed by defense c...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57478Fri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 GMT In two recent decisions, the United States Supreme Court determined that under Title VII employers are vicariously liable for sexual harassment by supervisors regardless of whether the harassed employee suffered a tangible adverse employment action such as termination, demotion or a failure to rec...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57500Thu, 01 Oct 1998 00:00:00 GMTThe courts are chipping away at an employer's ability to require its employees to arbitrate civil rights claims. Most recently, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which decides issues of federal law for many Western States including California, limited an arbitration agreement so that it would...http://www.cooley.com/showalert.aspx?Show=57501Sat, 01 Aug 1998 00:00:00 GMTEmployees seem to be changing jobs or starting new businesses at unprecedented rates, especially in entrepreneur-driven technology industries.&nbsp; As a result, potentially problematic situations related to shifting employment are becoming increasingly common.&nbsp; For example: A company lear...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=57553Thu, 25 Jul 1996 00:00:00 GMTIn Scott v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 15073 (Nov. 15, 1995), the California Supreme Court established the state as the only U.S. jurisdiction to recognize an employee’s cause of action for wrongful demotion.  In a unanimous opinion written by justice Stanley Mosk, the court...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=57554Mon, 04 Dec 1995 00:00:00 GMTCalifornia’s two largest banks, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, made headlines recently by announcing that they will require customers to submit all disputes over credit cards and deposit accounts to binding arbitration.  This underscores the sense of urgency in the corporate community about loweri...http://www.cooley.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=57555Mon, 27 Jul 1992 00:00:00 GMT