Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) coverage typically covers a claim that the named insured(s) (usually the employer) has become legally obligated to pay. There are two main forms of policies. A claims-made policy covers claims reported during the policy period (which will be identified in the policy itself). An occurrence policy requires that the act that is subject of the claim take place during the policy period. Only certain claims that are identified in the policy will be covered.Continue reading
Category Archives: General
Ninth Circuit Affirms California Restriction on Arbitration Agreements
On September 28, 2015, a divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal upheld California’s ban on PAGA waivers in arbitration agreements. Sakkab v. Luxottica Retail N. Am., Inc., No. 13-55184, 2015 WL 5667912 (9th Cir. Sept. 28, 2015). The 2 to 1 decision held that the ruling of the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (2014) prohibiting employee waivers of representative Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) claims in workplace arbitration agreements, did not violate the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) which requires that arbitration agreements be enforced according to their terms.Continue reading
Trends: The Sick Leave “Virus”
Laws mandating paid sick leave for employees are spreading like a virus, both inside and outside of California, mutating into different strains as they go. “Ground Zero” was San Francisco’s 2007 municipal ordinance requiring employers within the city to offer paid sick leave benefits. Recently, other California cities such as Oakland and Emeryville, have followed suit, joining a dozen or so other major cities or counties each with their own local sick leave ordinances.Continue reading
Which Came First? The Tech Boom or Wage and Hour Claims Boom?
During the heady days of the internet revolution, news stories abounded about young receptionists who became millionaires overnight when their stock options turned to gold. But something else was quietly happening that would have and continues to have a profound impact on California employers.Continue reading