Charles J. Stiegler

Blogs: California Employment Law Update, Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Latest Articles

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Fifth Circuit Addresses FLSA Tip Credits Once Again

By Nicole Eichberger & Charles J. Stiegler on June 30, 2016

The Fifth Circuit has had tipping on its mind, as the decision of Steele v. Leasing Enterprises, Ltd., represents its second opinion within ten months addressing this pay practice. On the heels of Montano v. Montrose, the Steele decision tackles the question of whether an employer violates 29 U.S.C §203(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it offsets tip credits to recover costs related to processing credit card transactions – essentially passing…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Fifth Circuit Tips Its Hand as to Analysis of FLSA’s Tip Credit

By Charles J. Stiegler & Nicole Eichberger on September 9, 2015

Restaurants throughout the Fifth Circuit, and even beyond, should review the recent decision of Montano v. Montrose Restaurant, which discusses the often tricky and always fact-intensive question of whether a restaurant employee is properly included in a tip pool.…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Magistrate Recommends Denial of Class Certification in Goldman Sachs Gender Discrimination Suit

By Mark W. Batten & Charles J. Stiegler on March 19, 2015

On March 10, 2015, a group of plaintiffs suing Goldman Sachs for gender discrimination suffered another setback in their attempt to certify a company-wide class in the case of Chen-Oster et al. v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., 10 Civ. 6950, pending in the Southern District of New York. In that decision, linked here, Magistrate Judge Francis issued a report and recommendation holding that individualized issues of causation would “swamp” any classwide questions and that…

California Employment Law Update

PAGA Claims and Arbitration – A Federal Court Parts Ways With Iskanian

By Laura Reathaford & Charles J. Stiegler on October 15, 2014

The California Supreme Court’s decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, (discussed here), held that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) except as to claims that were made pursuant to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to represent other current and former employees and recover civil penalties on behalf of the State of California for purported Labor Code violations.…

California Employment Law Update

California Supreme Court Limits Recovery for Employees Who Misrepresent Their Immigration Status

By Hal Brody & Charles J. Stiegler on July 10, 2014

On June 26, 2014, the California Supreme Court handed down Salas v. Sierra Chemical, a case at the intersection of employment and immigration law. Salas, a former employee of Sierra Chemical, filed suit alleging disability discrimination and wrongful termination. Prior to trial, Salas notified the court that he would assert a Fifth Amendment privilege to any questions regarding his immigration status. This apparently alerted Sierra Chemical, which investigated and discovered that Salas had wrongfully used…

California Employment Law Update

California Supreme Court Leaves Unanswered Questions in Independent Contractor Case

By Jeremy M. Mittman & Charles J. Stiegler on July 1, 2014

On Monday, June 30, 2014, the California Supreme Court handed down its decision in Ayala v. Antelope Valley Newspapers, a lawsuit brought on behalf of a group of newspaper delivery carriers who alleged that they had been misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees. The trial court had initially denied certification, finding that common issues did not predominate and that a classwide trial would be unmanageable in view of the differences in the way…

California Employment Law Update

California Courts May No Longer Be Able to Certify a Ham Sandwich

By Laura Reathaford & Charles J. Stiegler on June 5, 2014

Commentators have quipped that class certification is so easy in California that with little effort a group of plaintiffs could certify even a ham sandwich. In fact, as we have discussed here, we have seen a proliferation of recent appellate decisions hinging class certification on the mere existence of an employer’s uniform policy – no matter how facially lawful that policy may be or how diverse its application is to the putative class at…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

California Courts May No Longer Be Able to Certify a Ham Sandwich

By Laura Reathaford & Charles J. Stiegler on June 5, 2014

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Court Approves FLSA Settlement that Extinguishes Related State Law Claims

By Charles J. Stiegler on June 5, 2014

When an employer settles a collective action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), may the settlement agreement also include a release of any rights to overtime pay which the plaintiffs may have under state law? In Wells Fargo Wage and Hour Employment Practices Litigation, MDL No. H-11-2266 (S.D. Tex. May 12, 2014), the court answered that question with a clear “yes.”…

California Employment Law Update

California Labor Commissioner Introduces new “Wage Theft” Website, paid for by PAGA

By Charles J. Stiegler on May 8, 2014

On April 30, 2014, the California Labor Commissioner introduced a new website, WageTheftIsACrime.com in an outreach attempt aimed at what the Commissioner calls the “underserved population of low-wage workers.” Although the Labor Commissioner already operates a thorough and comprehensive website, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html, the new site is purposefully written in plain English in an attempt to reach out to low-wage workers with a minimum of legalese. Notably, there is a sister website in Spanish, RoboDeSueldoEsUnCrimen.com The website…

Charles J. Stiegler

Fifth Circuit Addresses FLSA Tip Credits Once Again

Fifth Circuit Tips Its Hand as to Analysis of FLSA’s Tip Credit

Magistrate Recommends Denial of Class Certification in Goldman Sachs Gender Discrimination Suit

PAGA Claims and Arbitration – A Federal Court Parts Ways With Iskanian

California Supreme Court Limits Recovery for Employees Who Misrepresent Their Immigration Status

California Supreme Court Leaves Unanswered Questions in Independent Contractor Case

California Courts May No Longer Be Able to Certify a Ham Sandwich

California Courts May No Longer Be Able to Certify a Ham Sandwich

Court Approves FLSA Settlement that Extinguishes Related State Law Claims

California Labor Commissioner Introduces new “Wage Theft” Website, paid for by PAGA

Company

Support

New to the Network