Employment Law in Motion
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California Supreme Court Holds Single Allegation of Racial Slur by Coworker Sufficient to Form Basis of Hostile Work Environment Claim
Recently, the California Supreme Court found that a plaintiff’s claim based on a single (disputed) racial epithet by a non-supervisory coworker was sufficient to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim—it was sufficiently severe even though not pervasive.
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From Fingerprints to Facial Recognition: Employer Responsibilities for Biometric Data Management
Companies’ use of their customers’ biometric data has been increasing for a couple of decades. Numerous state and federal laws regulate how consumer biometric data can be stored and used and require notices to consumers about these actions.
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Posting Outside the Office, but Not Outside the Scope of an Employer’s Potential Liability
Between hybrid work, flexible schedules, online meetings, and the ubiquity of social media, the lines between in and out of office conduct continue to get murkier and create potential tagalong liability that persists for employers who do not promptly respond to complaints brought forward by employees. The Ninth Circuit has made clear that even though an employee’s conduct is online—even outside of work time—the impact that it has on an employee can be sufficient to sustain a Title VII hostile work environment claim.
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So Much for Goodbye: FTC Ban on Noncompetes Just Overturned
On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a much-anticipated new rule that would have prohibited ALL new noncompetes with employees nationwide, and enforcement of almost all existing noncompetes beginning September 4, 2024. However, just yesterday, a federal district court in Texas held that the FTC lacked the authority to issue the rule and issued a nationwide injunction that now prevents the rule from going into effect. The agency has initially indicated it is weighing its options and may yet appeal the decision.
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Beginning January 1, 2025, Minimum Wages Increase in Unincorporated King County
On May 14, 2024, the King County Council adopted a minimum wage higher than the state minimum wage (and some of the cities inside King County) for all employees working anywhere in unincorporated King County.
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Make Sure the Clock Is Running: A Reminder from the Ninth Circuit
Folks who attended Miller Nash’s Annual Employment Law Seminar last fall may remember a discussion about a case brought by Nevada call center workers seeking compensation for their time booting up and shutting down their computers. We shared that the Ninth Circuit reversed a motion for summary judgment in favor of the employer and sent the case back to the District Court. In a similar script, last week, the Ninth Circuit again reversed a second motion for summary judgment for the employer and remanded the case again (Cadena v. Customer Connexx LLC, 23-15820, 2024 WL 3352712 (9th Cir July 10, 2024)). With its remand, though, the Ninth Circuit has made clear that the “de minimis doctrine” still applies to cases related to claims for overtime wages.
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