Recently enacted regulations under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) require employers to develop a harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention policy that: 1) Is in writing. 2) Lists all current protected groups under FEHA which includes: race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry,…
Fry et al. v. City of Los Angeles (March 7, 2016), B259791, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ [ 2016 WL 861241] In Fry et al. v. City of Los Angeles, the Court of Appeal rejected a vested rights challenge to a City of Los Angeles ordinance that…
Ellins v. City of Sierra Madre (Jan. 28, 2016, B261968) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ [2016 WL 337383] The Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act ("POBRA") (Government Code section 3300 et seq.) provides procedural guarantees to public safety officers who are placed under investigation and…
On October 8, 2015, Governor Brown signed into law SB 178, titled "Electronic Communications Privacy Act" ("ECPA"). SB 178 amends California's Penal Code to require that any law enforcement agency or other government entity must obtain a search warrant or court order before it can…
In August, we sent out an e-alert - The Legislature and a PERB ALJ Gang Up on Local Agencies That Have Adopted "COIN" Transparency Measures - regarding SB 331, the so-called "Civic Reporting Openness in Negotiations Act." SB 331 was drafted at the behest of…
Poole v. Orange County Fire Authority (Aug. 24, 2015, S215300) ___ Cal.4th ___ [2015 WL 4998965] On August 24, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that validates the practice by many supervisors in the public sector of keeping informal "working files" as memory…
Upon return in August from its summer recess, the California Assembly will consider the so-called "Civic Reporting Openness in Negotiations Efficiency Act" (SB 331), which passed the Senate on May 22, 2015. The bill targets the growing trend of public agencies adopting COIN (Civic Openness…
On July 13, 2015, the Governor signed AB 304, a clean-up bill to the previously enacted AB 1522 - California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHF) of 2014. This e-alert summarizes some of the key points of this legislation. As originally enacted, HWHF provides employees…
County of San Luis Obispo v. San Luis Obispo Government Attorneys' Union, et al. (PERB Decision No. 2427-M; Case Nos. LA-CO-123-M & 124-M) On June 3, 2015, the Public Employment Relations Board issued a decision finding that two employee organizations representing attorneys employed by the…
On March 30, 2015, the Third Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal issued a published decision in Gallup v. Superior Court of Nevada County ruling that a plaintiff must exhaust the Labor Commissioner's administrative remedies before filing a whistleblower retaliation claim under Labor…