The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that California's "Kin Care" rules, which require employers that provide paid sick leave to permit employees to use a portion of the leave to care for sick family members, do not apply to sick leave policies providing an unlimited number of paid sick days. McCarthur v. Pac.
Client Alert | February 23, 2010
As economic conditions improve, the war for talent is intensifying. We have set out below ten "golden rules" for UK employers seeking to retain key talent. Different rules and considerations may apply in other jurisdictions.Ten Golden Rules for Retaining Key Employees in the UK1. Maintain a supportive work environmentMany key employees, particularly those with children, struggle to reconcile their responsibilities at work and home. As a consequence, employers often struggle to retain key female employees. Employers looking to reverse this trend, should consider whether it is possible, without harming their business, to introduce benefit plans and working arrangements which help employees to better balance their responsibilities at home and work
Client Alert | February 22, 2010
On December 8, 2009, the French Supreme Court issued a decision impacting companies having operations in France and subject to the "whistle-blowing" requirements provided for by Section 301(4) of the Sarbanes-Oxley 2002 Act.In 2004 and 2007, Dassault Systèmes ("Dassault") - the holding company of the Dassault group - adapted its "Code of Business Conduct" (the "Code") to provide for a whistle-blowing procedure.The Code described the procedure as being "neither mandatory nor exclusive. Any person having knowledge of material breaches of the principles described in the Code of Business Conduct in financial, accounting or banking matters or relating to anticorruption issues and which deems it appropriate may communicate such breac
Client Alert | February 1, 2010
As the German economy continues to suffer heavily from the consequences of the global financial crisis, 2009 saw the introduction of many changes in the fields of corporate, securities and banking law.
Client Alert | January 20, 2010
Orange County partner Michele L. Maryott is the author of "Employer Perils in the Social Networking Age" [PDF] published in the January 2010 issue of the Orange County Business Journal.
Client Alert | January 14, 2010
On December 21, 2009, President Obama signed the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act. Among other things, the Act extends the eligibility period for the COBRA premium subsidy from December 31, 2009 to February 28, 2010 and expands the maximum duration of the subsidy from 9 to 15 months. The longer subsidy period applies retroactively and will require plan administrators to provide a supplemental notice to affected individuals.BackgroundThe COBRA subsidy initially was included in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly known as the stimulus bill) and provided a temporary COBRA premium subsidy for employees who lost health plan coverage between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 due to involuntary terminations of employment. Our February 24, 2009
Client Alert | December 22, 2009
On November 20, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision reversing summary judgment for a financial services firm in a wage and hour action filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). Whalen v. J.P.
Client Alert | December 9, 2009
The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board ("ARB")--which hears cases under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") and other "whistleblower" laws--has affirmed dismissal of a SOX whistleblower complaint because even supposing the complainant had alleged conduct that violated company policies and harmed the company, it did not relate "definitively and specifically" to securities fraud. Lewandowski v. Viacom Inc., ARB No.
Client Alert | November 11, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Jason Schwartz and associate Daniel J. Davis are the authors of "Expanding DCHRA Beyond DC Employment" [PDF] published online by Law360 on November 5, 2009 at law360.com.
Client Alert | November 5, 2009
On October 15, 2009, the IRS released the inflation-adjusted limitations applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans for 2010. Due to low inflation, the limitations have not changed from 2009. In addition to the impact of these limitations on tax-qualified retirement plans, the compensation limit under section 401(a)(17) of the Code also affects the amount of severance pay that may be excludable from coverage under section 409A of the Code in certain circumstances.
Client Alert | October 21, 2009
Welcome to our Executive Summary, in which we highlight key developments in UK Employment and Labour Law. A headline summary of cases and developments is provided below.
Client Alert | September 8, 2009
Last year, President Bush signed Executive Order 13,465, requiring federal government contractors to "agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security," and the Secretary designated the "E-Verify" system, described in more detail below, for this purpose. The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and NASA then jointly issued a final rule to implement the Executive Order, that was to be effective January 15, 2009.On December 23, 2008, however, the U.S.
Client Alert | September 8, 2009
Last week, the Department of Labor published in the Federal Register proposed regulations to implement President Obama's Executive Order requiring that government contracts include provisions regarding employees' unionization rights, that a notice of employees' rights under the federal labor laws be posted by the employer pursuant to those contracts, and authorizing the Secretary of Labor to investigate contractors' compliance with the Order and the accompanying Labor Department regulations. 74 Fed.
Client Alert | August 10, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Jason Schwartz is the author of "Not Your Average Whistleblower Statute" [PDF] published online by Law360 on July 31, 2009 at law360.com.
Client Alert | July 31, 2009
On July 23, 2009, in an opinion authored by Chief Judge Anthony Scirica and joined by Judge Marjorie Rendell and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a seminal decision regarding class certification pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) and employment cases generally. Hohider v. United Parcel Service, Inc., No.
Client Alert | July 24, 2009
How to Find and Use Smoking Gun Evidence to Protect Your BusinessOur Program: Gibson Dunn partners Jessica Brown, Karl Nelson and Jason Schwartz are joined by Stroz Friedberg Managing Director Seth Berman to address the legal and practical steps to prevent and/or restrict the loss of key employees to a competitor.
Client Alert | July 16, 2009
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued three published opinions that should help defendants challenge labor-and-employment and other types of class actions: (1) Vinole v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., No.
Client Alert | July 14, 2009
The California Supreme Court has ruled in Arias v. Superior Court (Angelo Dairy) that for claims brought as “representative” actions under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Business & Professions Code Section 17200, et seq., a plaintiff seeking relief on behalf of others must satisfy class action requirements, but a plaintiff seeking civil penalties for alleged California Labor Code violations in a representative capacity under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) does not have to meet class requirements. In a companion case, Amalgamated Transit Union, et al.
Client Alert | July 13, 2009
In a much-watched employment discrimination case confronting the tension between the disparate treatment and disparate impact theories under Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964, the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer may not resort to intentional discrimination in order to avoid an unintentional, disparate impact absent "a strong basis in evidence" to believe it will be subject to liability if it fails to take the race-conscious, corrective action. Ricci v. DeStefano, No.
Client Alert | June 30, 2009
The Supreme Court has ruled that an employee bringing a disparate treatment claim for age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) must prove that age was the "but-for" cause of the adverse employment action. Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., No.
Client Alert | June 22, 2009
The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division recently has launched an investigation into whether certain recruiting and hiring practices of technology companies violate the antitrust laws.
Client Alert | June 15, 2009
Common issues confronting acquirors involve retaining the target company’s key employees and protecting against the loss of business to defecting employees. A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision addressed issues faced by an acquiror, where a group of the target company’s employees plotted to leave the target company and launch a competing business prior to the acquisition’s close. The court’s decision in Ivize of Milwaukee, LLC v. Compex Litigation Support, LLC will likely cause acquirors to more aggressively seek and obtain employment and/or non-competition agreements from key target employees, particularly where the success of the acquisition depends upon a relatively small number of key employees. The Case In early 2007, Compex Legal Services (&qu
Client Alert | June 15, 2009
Los Angeles partner Marcellus McRae is the author of "Racial Diversity at the Counsel Table " [PDF] published in the June 2009 issue of California Lawyer.
Client Alert | June 8, 2009
Orange County partner Terrence R. Allen and associate Stacy J. Marsh are the authors of "Employee Issues Can Loom Large in Sale-of-Business Transactions" [PDF] published in the June 2009 issue of the Orange County Business Journal.
Client Alert | June 1, 2009
Washington, D.C. partners William J. Kilberg , Jason Schwartz and associate Josh Chadwick are the authors of "A Measured Approach: Employment and Labor Law During the George W.
Client Alert | May 1, 2009
The Occupational Safety and Health (“OSH”) Act has largely remained unchanged since its enactment in 1970, but on April 23, Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, introduced a bill that would make sweeping changes to the occupational safety and health enforcement landscape. While the Protecting America’s Workers (“PAW”) Act, H.R.
Client Alert | April 30, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Jason Schwartz and associate Michael Billok are the authors of "Evolving Employment Authorization Enforcement" [PDF] published online by Law360 on April 21, 2009 at law360.com.
Client Alert | April 21, 2009
As described in our February 24, 2009 client alert, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly knows as the stimulus bill) implemented a COBRA premium subsidy for employees who are involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The Labor Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued important guidance to assist employers and plan administrators in satisfying their subsidy-related obligations.
Client Alert | April 3, 2009
In a significant decision, the Supreme Court today held that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that clearly and unmistakably requires union members to arbitrate federal age discrimination claims is legally enforceable. See 14 Penn Plaza LLC et al., v. Pyett et al., No.
Client Alert | April 1, 2009
Today, the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reconsider an earlier, 3-judge panel decision that upheld a San Francisco ordinance requiring employers to make health care expenditures on behalf of employees. The Ninth Circuit's ruling in Golden Gate Restaurant Ass'n v. City and County of San Francisco, No.
Client Alert | March 9, 2009
On February 25, 2009, Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California resolved a novel question of federal labor law of significant import for employers in California by holding, in the context of a putative state-wide class-action in Rubin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No.
Client Alert | February 26, 2009
President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly known as the stimulus bill) into law on February 17, 2009. Part of the nearly $800 billion of new spending in the bill is used to provide a temporary COBRA subsidy for employees whose employment is involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. This change will require immediate action by employers and health plan administrators.Key Rules Regarding the COBRA SubsidyEligibility for Subsidy. The subsidy is generally available to any employee who experiences an "involuntary" termination of employment, other than due to gross misconduct, between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The legislation does not define what constitutes an involunt
Client Alert | February 24, 2009
Last Friday, January 30, President Obama signed three executive orders with important implications for the employment practices of federal government contractors. One concerns reimbursement for activities intended to influence employee decisions about unionization, the second requires employers to post a notice of federal labor law rights and empowers the Secretary to debar federal contractors for noncompliance, and the third requires contractors to offer jobs to employees of a prior contractor in certain circumstances. Together, the orders are among the first of what are expected to be numerous Administration initiatives to strengthen organized labor.The Order titled “Economy in Government Contracting” provides that contractors “shall treat as unallowable” the costs fr
Client Alert | February 2, 2009
As a result of the current market conditions companies of all sizes and in all sectors are looking at ways of controlling costs. Cost cutting plans will inevitably include ways of reducing employee costs and headcount.
Client Alert | January 28, 2009
With the seating of a new Congress this week and the Presidential Inauguration fast approaching, significant changes to a variety of federal labor and employment laws figure prominently on the political agenda. The labor movement spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support President-elect Obama and elect a near filibuster-proof Senate through which it hopes to enact far-reaching legislation giving unions the upper hand with management so that they can reverse decades of declining membership. The President-elect and sizeable majorities of the House and Senate also believe that many current employment laws disfavor employees, and that enforcement in the Bush Administration was lax. Political observers expect employment legislation, regulation, and enforcement to be amo
Client Alert | January 9, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Mark A. Perry and of counsel Paul Blankenstein are the authors of "The Inapplicability of Rule 23(b)(1) to ERISA Class Actions" [PDF] published in the December 5, 2008 issue of BNA Inc.'s Workplace Law Report.
Client Alert | December 5, 2008
As the 2008 calendar year comes to a close, employers must take a number of actions to address Sections 409A and 457A of the Internal Revenue Code for deferred compensation plans. Also, employers whose employer identification numbers end with "3" or "8" need to file their applications for IRS determination letters for their tax-qualified plans by January 31, 2009. In addition to this client alert, we recently prepared an alert on various recent executive compensation developments. Among other things, companies should be planning their responses to pending "say on pay" legislation.
Client Alert | December 3, 2008
On June 6, 2008, the President amended Executive Order 12989 to require federal government contractors to "agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security," which Secretary Chertoff designated to be the "E-Verify" system. E-Verify is a system operated by DHS in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows employers to use their own computers and Internet connections to verify electronically the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. There is no fee for use of this service.
Client Alert | November 18, 2008
The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (“ARB”)—which hears cases under Sarbanes-Oxley and other whistleblower laws—has affirmed dismissal of a complaint brought under the whistleblower provisions of several environmental statutes, in part because the complainant did not engage in protected activity by participating in an internal investigation when he hindered the investigation’s progress. Caldwell v. EG&G Defense Materials, Inc., ARB No.
Client Alert | November 18, 2008
The California Supreme Court recently granted review of the Court of Appeal's decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp.
Client Alert | November 17, 2008
In the past few months, executive compensation practices have received unprecedented attention. In the recent "bailout" legislation for the financial services industry, for the first time Congress has imposed substantive limitations on executive compensation. In this case, the restrictions are imposed on executives of financial institutions that accept federal assistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program ("TARP"). It is widely anticipated that Congress will expand some of the limitations under TARP to cover other publicly-traded companies. In addition, Congress may enact "say on pay" legislation in the next Congress. Even if it does not, it can be expected that compensation-related shareholder proposals, perhaps model
Client Alert | November 14, 2008
Washington, D.C. partner Baruch A. Fellner and associate Michael Billok are the authors of "Workplace Injuries - Scrutinizing Workplace Fatalities" [PDF] published in the November 3, 2008 issue of the New Jersey Law Journal.
Client Alert | November 3, 2008
On October 16, 2008, the IRS released the inflation-adjusted limitations applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans for 2009. The increases are pursuant to inflation adjustment factors included in the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
Client Alert | October 23, 2008
Today President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The amendments will take effect on January 1, 2009 and will alter some of the key provisions in the ADA, largely in response to several Supreme Court decisions. Key changes in the Act include: "Regarded As" Discrimination: Under current law, an individual can demonstrate disability by showing "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual." In addition, a person is protected from discrimination if he or she is "regarded as having such an impairment." Courts have found that establishing “regarded as” discrimination requires a showing that th
Client Alert | September 25, 2008
Welcome to the third Quarterly Executive Summary of 2008, in which we highlight key developments in UK Employment and Labour law since our last Quarterly Executive Summary.A summary of cases and developments is provided below. For further details concerning cases and developments discussed in this Quarterly Executive Summary or for assistance on any UK Employment or Labour matter, please contact James Cox, Daniel Pollard or Steven Cochrane in Gibson Dunn's London office.HeadlinesTemporary Agency Workers to get same terms as Permanent Employees. The European Council of Ministers has agreed to legislate to require temporary agency workers to receive the same pay and certain other conditions of employment as the client's own staff. Click for details.House of Lords limit the
Client Alert | September 4, 2008
On August 7, 2008, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP, holding that noncompetition agreements are invalid unless expressly permitted by statute, such as in connection with the sale of a business. The Supreme Court also held that employee releases of “any and all" claims are valid even though nonwaivable statutory claims are not expressly carved out from the scope of the release.
Client Alert | August 13, 2008
On July 22, 2008, the California Court of Appeal issued a published decision in Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court of San Diego County, holding that while California employers must make timely meal periods available to employees and may not impede, discourage or dissuade employees from taking meal periods, employers are not obligated to police their workforce to ensure that employees take meal periods.
Client Alert | July 25, 2008
In a widely reported decision, Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating and Co., the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed issues of importance to employers concerning privacy and electronic communications.
Client Alert | July 10, 2008
This spring, Washington, D.C. became the second municipality in the country to require employers to provide paid sick leave for employees.
Client Alert | June 30, 2008
Last week, the Department of Justice published proposed regulations that could significantly alter the obligations of movie theaters, retailers, and other places of "public accommodation" under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA").
Client Alert | June 27, 2008