Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are honorary titles bestowed upon a select group of the most distinguished attorneys by the San Francisco publication, Law and Politics. Lang, Richert & Patch proudly recognizes its 2009 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. Attorneys earn this distinction after being evaluated in a multi-phase process that involves peer nomination and third-party research, which rigorously evaluates the nominees. Renowned authorities esteem this complex process of selecting top lawyers and deem it legitimate. As a result of its selection criteria and in-depth research process, Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are among the most noteworthy, if not best, client representatives in the state and leaders in the legal community.
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Fresno Attorneys receive Super Lawyer and Rising Star Honors
A Trend Toward Harmonizing Reasonable Accommodation and Interactive Process Claims Under the FEHA and ADA?
Nadaf-Rahrov v. Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., et al.: A Trend Toward Harmonizing Reasonable Accommodation and Interactive Process Claims Under the FEHA and ADA?
The Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District in Nadaf-Rahrov v. Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., et al. (Sept. 10, 2008, Cal. Ct. App. 1st) __ Cal.App.4th __ [2008 DJDAR14314] held the federal definition of “reasonable accommodation” applies to disability-based discrimination claims under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, Government Code section 12940 et seq. (the “FEHA”), perpetuating a split among California Courts of Appeal regarding the scope of protections available under the FEHA to qualified disabled workers. The following holdings are of particular significance.
Court of Appeal Rules Employers Must Only Provide Meal and Rest Breaks
Update: The Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case Ruling Employers Must Only Provide Meal and Rest Breaks
On October 22, 2008, the California Supreme Court granted review of Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 25. The Court of Appeal found, among other things, that employers need only provide, not ensure, that meal and rest periods are taken. Because the Supreme Court has granted review, the findings by the Court of Appeal are no longer good law and should not be followed.
Original Article Posted Below:
(July 23, 2008) In a decision that will have an impact on the laws governing meal and rest breaks, the 4th District Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that California law requires that employers need only provide meal periods, and, as a result, as with the rest period claims, the plaintiffs’ meal period claims are not amenable to class treatment.
The issue before the court in the case of Brinker Restaurant Corporation et al., v. The Superior Court of San Diego County, is did the trial court err in certifying this matter as a class action without first determining the elements of plaintiffs and real parties in interest against the defendants? [Read more...]
General Counsel to Employees: Think Before You Send
Katheryn Hayes Tucker
Fulton County Daily Report
E-discovery rules have caused in-house counsel to take a harder line with some of the e-mails that workers think are private
“Don’t put this in writing, but … ” Those are the opening words of an e-mail that got the writer’s company in legal hot water. And there are plenty more where that came from.
“This is off the record,” started the e-mail that in fact put it all on the record.
How about this one? “We may be in breach of contract, and here’s why.”
These examples of troublesome e-mails general counsel say they’ve run across don’t include the countless off color so-called jokes forwarded to contact lists of colleagues, interested or not, or links to Web sites that are definitely not part of a corporate job description.
Employers Required to Complete Sexual Harassment Training
By Charles Trudrung Taylor
Lang, Richert and Patch
Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 1825, a bill mandating sexual harassment training for supervisory employees every two years. The new law provides that by January 1, 2006 all employers with 50 or more employees must provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to supervisory employees. Although employers may resent initial costs and burdens of implementing training programs, this preventative law aims to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace, thereby saving employers money in the long run by reducing the number of costly lawsuits.