Week@Work

This episode of Week@Work highlights several important developments for California employers. At the national level, Congress considers protections for menopause, the IRS ups the standard mileage reimbursement rate, and several off-duty employee incidents lead to termination. In California, Blackberry will have to defend claims it retaliated against a worker who filed anonymous harassment complaints, Ralph’s agrees to stop asking about applicant criminal records to settle a lawsuit, and 26 Meta workers ask a court to stop layoffs because the decisions were made by AI. And don’t miss our bizarre case of the week, which features a famous rapper accused of employment retaliation.

This episode highlights several developments California employers should have on their radar. At the national level, Walmart agreed to pay $13 million in a pay case, the New York Times fires back in a high-profile promotion case, and the EEOC files two new religion cases for failing to accommodate workers’ sabbath. In California, Pfizer scores a big win in a retaliation suit, Amazon Fresh pays $5 million to settle OT suit, and Governor Newsom signs a new law limiting the use of arbitration agreements. Plus, don’t miss this week’s Bizarre Case, which involves a flight attendant’s TikTok dance video that has resulted in a discrimination lawsuit.

Although it was a holiday week, there was no shortage of employment law news. Joe covers a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could reshape the leadership and priorities of the NLRB and EEOC, President Trump's nomination of Keith Sonderling as Secretary of Labor, the EEOC's latest actions on DEI, the NLRB's reversal on non-compete agreements, California's July 1 minimum wage increases, several noteworthy settlements and lawsuits, and a bizarre case involving a $642 Super Bowl deli platter that somehow turned into a $4.25 million arbitration award.

This episode highlights retaliation verdicts, arbitration wins, union organizing, religious accommodation, and a battle over a tell-all book that could reshape the enforceability of non-disparagement agreements. Joe also breaks down important Ninth Circuit and NLRB developments affecting California employers and closes with a bizarre case involving Prada, Louis Vuitton, and workplace appearance standards that reminds employers to evaluate employees based on performance, not personal style.

This episode highlights the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to pass on two employment cases, the EEOC’s position on employer liability for third-party harassment, a staggering $22.8 million retaliation verdict against Walmart, and a lawsuit alleging workers were harassed for not speaking Spanish. In California, Joe examines the latest twists in the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni legal battle and a Target disability accommodation ruling that is generating significant employer buzz. He also spotlights new workplace lawsuits against major employers, including Stanford University and Sbarro. And for the Bizarre Case of the Week, we head to Hollywood, where a former Matlock writer claims the real drama wasn’t in the script—it was in the writers’ room, raising serious allegations of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

This episode highlights several developments from DC, including a bill that would allow the government to determine the terms of union contracts, more attacks on disparate impact discrimination, and a ruling that finds the $100,000 H-1B fee to be unlawful. In California, plaintiffs’ attorneys want Phillips 66 to pay $4 million in fees in a wage and hour case, SoFi stadium in LA avoids a labor dispute days before the World Cup, and xAI, Chapman University, and the DOJ face new employment lawsuits. And our bizarre case of the week alleges that terminating a worker on leave for posting about diapers violates the FMLA.