Koron & Podolsky, LLP

Today we celebrate women around the world. Today we celebrate your unstoppable way forward and your courage to change the world for the better. Happy International Women's Day.

Calif. Supreme Court Says Not To Round Meal Break Time Rounding time that workers spend on meal breaks goes against the purpose of California wage and labor laws, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a closely watched case that could force employers to change timekeeping practices.

Biden Gets 1st Opening On 9th Circ. Thanks To Judge Graber President Joe Biden will get to make a mark on the influential Ninth Circuit by replacing Judge Susan P. Graber, an appointee of President Bill Clinton who is taking senior status, a form of semiretirement.

Starting the day off with a laugh. Calif. Judge Tells DLA Atty On Zoom: 'At Least Have A Tie On' A California federal judge called out a DLA Piper attorney Thursday for not wearing a tie during a virtual hearing on Finisar's $6.8 million securities settlement, saying male attorneys have taken the informality of COVID-19-era remote hearings too far while joking, "At least there's not cats on the screen."

All references are to the Code of Civil Procedure: Section 116.223: New - provides for small claims court jurisdiction of COVID-19 residential rent debt disputes and reduction in damages.... Section 599: New - extension of deadlines in conjunction with continuance of trial date during COVID-19 situation. Sections 1179.01-1179.07: COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020.

Wishing everyone an abundance of peace and great happiness. Stay safe and healthy.

SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION TO PROTECTED FAMILY LEAVE COMES TO CALIFORNIA Starting January 1, 2021, the CFRA will apply to employers with as few as five employees and provide employees with job-protected leave to care for grandparents, grandchildren and siblings with serious health conditions. Changes to the CFRA include: ... Extending coverage from employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius to those with five or more employees (and not requiring that those employees work within any given distance or area). Expanding the qualifying uses of leave to include leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild or sibling with a serious health condition. The definition of "child" now includes adult children and the children of domestic partners. If both parents work for the same employer, the employer is required to give each parent 12 workweeks of unpaid leave to bond with their child, rather than limiting them to a combined total of 12 workweeks of leave to bond with their child. Elimination of the "key employee" exception to reinstating certain employees. This exception allows employers to refuse to reinstate certain key employees if necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer's operations. Requiring employers to provide up to 12 workweeks of leave due to a qualifying exigency arising because a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent is on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. This change brings the CFRA in step with the FMLA, although the FMLA does not cover domestic partners.

Court Affirms $4.26 Million Jury Award For Self-Published Defamation Tilkey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2020 WL 6268474 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020) Allstate terminated Michael Tilkey, a 30-year employee who sold life insurance, after Tilkey’s arrest in Arizona following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend; he was arrested for criminal damage deface, possession or use of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct, disruptive behavior. Domestic violence charges were attached to the c...riminal damage and disorderly conduct charges. Following an investigation, Allstate terminated Tilkey’s employment for engaging in threatening behavior and/or acts of physical harm or violence to any person, regardless of whether he/she is employed by Allstate. Tilkey sued Allstate for wrongful termination, violation of Cal. Lab. Code 432.7 (which prohibits an employer from considering as a factor in employment decisions any record of arrest that did not result in a conviction) and compelled, self-published defamation. The jury awarded Tilkey $2.7 million in compensatory and $16 million in punitive damages. The Court of Appeal reversed in part, holding that Allstate had not violated Section 432.7 because Tilkey had appeared before a court in Arizona and entered a guilty plea, which constituted a conviction within the meaning of the statute. The Court affirmed the jury’s verdict on the defamation claim, holding that Tilkey was compelled to self-publish a statement about himself that was not substantially true after Allstate provided a written explanation for the termination on a Form U-5 to FINRA. Finally, the Court reduced the punitive damages award to $2.55 million (1.5 times the $1.7 million compensatory damages award for defamation). See also Garcia-Brower v. Premier Auto. Imports of Cal., LLC, 55 Cal. App. 5th 961 (2020) (employer may have violated Section 432.7 for terminating employee who did not disclose a dismissed conviction for misdemeanor grand theft).

COVID-19 Prevention Program The main requirement of the emergency standards is that employers must prepare, implement, and maintain a written COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP). The CPP appears modeled on the written Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) that Cal/OSHA regulations require all California employers to implement and maintain. In fact, the standards state that the CPP may be integrated as part of an employer’s IIPP or maintained in a separate, standalone do...Continue reading

We Are Thankful For Your Business! We gather on this day to be thankful for what we have, for the family we love, the friends we cherish, and for the blessings that will come. Being selected to stand up for people in circumstances where they can not stand up for themselves is a precious gift for which our entire team is grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Discrimination or not? Thoughts?

Thank You to All Veterans! We Salute You!

BREAKING: 9th Circ. Allows End To Temporary Protected Status A split Ninth Circuit panel on Monday reversed a federal judge's order that preserved temporary immigration protections for individuals from four countries, paving the way for the Trump administration to deport more than 300,000 people.

Calif. Gov. OKs Modifications To Worker Classification Law California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday gave his blessing to legislation that modifies the Golden State's landmark worker misclassification law to allow for more individuals to continue work as independent contractors, in particular freelance writers and photographers, music industry professionals, performance artists and data aggregators.

In California, Uber and Lyft drivers should become employees within the next 10 days.

In non COVID-19 news.

Keep your head up, continue to fight for your goals and always remember the two rules of life: #1 Never Quit #2 Remember Rule #1

Interesting article on the reality of today.

7 More Weeks of Unemployment Benefits